Liverpool entertained Aston Villa at Anfield earlier today hoping to return to winning ways in the Premier League. The Reds were lacklustre in the first half as they struggled to create any clear-cut chances to score. The Villans went into the half-time with their clean sheet intact.
The second half was more of the same with both sides cancelling each other out. However, Sadio Mane finally managed to make the breakthrough in the 71st minute when he scored with an emphatic left-footed finish from close range. Curtis Jones came off the bench to find the back of the net in the 89th minute which made the points secure for the home team. The match finished with Liverpool securing a hard-fought 2-0 win at Merseyside.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player has fared during the match against the Villans.
GK: Alisson Becker – 7.5/10
The Brazilian keeper made a few crucial clearances during the game and even pulled off a world-class stop to deny Jack Grealish right at the death. He will be happy to secure a clean sheet today.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6/10
The English right-back was defensively solid but lacked the cutting edge in the final third. He will be hoping for more productive days at Anfield.
CB: Joe Gomez – 7/10
The Liverpool centre-back had to make a lot of recovering runs throughout the 90 minutes. He was rewarded with a shutout for all his efforts.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 6/10
The Dutch defender made an uncharacteristic error in the second half but quickly made amends when he tracked back and made the clearance. Otherwise, he had another relatively comfortable game at the heart of Jurgen Klopp’s defence.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 6.5/10
The Scottish full-back made several energetic runs down the left flank and did well to whip in some inviting crosses into the opposition box. However, he got booked in the first 45 minutes and was walking a defensive tightrope throughout the remainder of the match.
CM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5/10
He tried to get himself involved in the game but didn’t create anything of note going forward. It was a lacklustre display from him today which would disappoint Klopp.
CM: Fabinho – 6.5/10
The Brazilian retained possession with ease in midfield and read the danger quite well inside his half. However, he looked a bit slow after the half-time break, which led to his substitution at the hour mark.
CM: Naby Keita – 7/10
The Guinea international made some promising runs from midfield and was responsible for setting up Mane with a brilliant pass in the 71st minute. The Liverpool supporters will be quite encouraged with his performance this evening.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 6.5/10
The Egyptian winger had a few bright moments in the game without creating too much inside the Villa penalty area. However, he picked up another assist for setting up Jones’ goal in the dying embers of the match.
ST: Divock Origi – 6/10
The Belgian striker saw plenty of the ball but failed to give a good account of himself while leading the line down the middle.
LW: Sadio Mane – 8/10
The Senegalese speedster deserves a lot of credit for not giving up and finally popping up with the opening goal after being set-up by Keita in the 71st minute. He just about deserves the man of the match award.
Substitutes:
CM: Jordan Henderson – 7/10
The Liverpool captain increased the tempo of the game and did well to push his teammates towards the victory.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 7.5/10
His off-the-ball movements caused all sorts of problems for the Villa defenders. The Brazilian produced a nice, little cameo to help his side claim maximum points at home.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 6/10
The Dutch midfield ace kept the ball moving and hardly put a foot wrong after coming off the bench.
CM: Curtis Jones – 8/10
The talented youngster was eager to get involved in the attacking third and got a confidence-boosting goal just before the full-time whistle.
RB: Neco Williams – N/A
He hardly got any time to make an impact in the game.
