Liverpool v Aston Villa LIVE: Premier League result and reaction as Reds return to the top of the table
Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa: Nunez and Salah strike for the Reds to take them five points clear at the top
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Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool continued Arne Slot’s dream start to his tenure with a confident 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday night.
The Reds dominated early on, eventually capitalising as Mo Salah ran clear on the counter and Darwin Nunez collected the ball to fire past Emi Martinez.
Both sides had chances in the rest of the first half, with Villa forcing two great saves from Kelleher, though the first half ended with the home side ahead.
The second half was a far less eventful affair, with Liverpool dominating possesion but both sides finding it difficult to carve out clear-cut chances.
As Villa chased an equaliser, Salah chased a clearance and came off better, with the ball defelcting into his path to take him one-v-one by the halfway line. The Egyptian raced to the Villa box and calmly lifted a chip over Martinez to finish the match and take Liverpool back to the summit of the Premier League.
Follow all the Premier League action with our live blog below:
A dip in form
Aston Villa have equalled their longest losing streak under Unai Emery of three matches across all competitions. They could suffer consecutive Premier League defeats for the first time in 18 months.
Slot on Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold’s contract
One of the ongoing sagas concerning Liverpool is the contract negotiations with Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk who are all out of contract next summer.
Arne Slot has repeatedly been asked if there are any updates on the discussions and he replied that they concern the players and sporting director Richard Hughes and would remain internal.
Slot said: “It would be strange if I have no input. In general contract situations are talked about by the people who should talk about them. I talk about this with Richard and that’s where it should be, not in front of a microphone.”
Home advantage
This is Liverpool’s 100th home game versus Aston Villa in all competitions. The Reds have won 62 times and lost only 17.
‘The biggest mistake I witnessed’: Unai Emery laments bizarre Tyrone Mings error in Aston Villa defeat
Unai Emery has said Tyrone Mings’ calamitous gaffe which condemned Aston Villa to Champions League defeat at Club Brugge was the biggest mistake he has witnessed in his managerial career.
The centre-back inexplicably picked up a short goal-kick by Emiliano Martinez without knowing referee Tobias Stieler had restarted the game.
Brugge captain Hans Vanaken converted the resulting 52nd-minute penalty to earn a 1-0 victory for the Belgian champions and end Villa’s three-game winning start to life in the Champions League.
‘The biggest mistake I witnessed’: Unai Emery laments bizarre Tyrone Mings error
Mings’ handball gifted Club Brugge the penalty from which Hans Vanaken secured Club Brugge a 1-0 victory
Villa’s last win here was big
Aston Villa’s solitary victory in the last 13 Premier League meetings was by 7-2 at Villa Park in October 2020, with Ollie Watkins scoring a hat-trick.
But, Villa have only taken one point from six league visits to Anfield since a 1-0 win in September 2014.
Comeback kings
Last time out against Brighton, Liverpool came from behind to win for the 100th time in the Premier League, becoming the third club to reach that milestone.
Head to head
Liverpool have won more league games (94) and amassed more league points versus Aston Villa (324), converting to three points for a win, than they have against any other club.
The Reds have lost only five of the last 39 league meetings between the sides both home and away.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot explains left-back battle between Kostas Tsimikas and Andy Robertson
Arne Slot could hardly have wished for anything more from the first four months or so of his time at Liverpool but the fixtures keep coming fast and thick for the Reds, with Aston Villa next up at the weekend in the Premier League.
That is the final match before the upcoming international break and Slot will be hoping for a fourth straight victory in all competitions, which would make it six wins and one draw across a run of games many saw as being a big test of the team’s title credentials after a perceived easier run at the start of the campaign.
Slot has made sure to tweak his team for games to keep his squad fresh of late, with midweek seeing Liverpool hammer Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League after a couple of such changes, including Luis Diaz playing at centre-forward - where he scored twice from and netted three times on the night in total.
Slot gives verdict on key battle for position at Liverpool
The Reds boss also has a decision to make in attack after Luis Diaz scored three
Liverpool vs Aston Villa
Having won just one of their six Premier League home games against Aston Villa between 2009 and 2014 (two draws, three defeats), Liverpool have now won five of their last six at Anfield against the Villans (one draw).
Will they add to that tally tonight?
‘Villa will be tough’ says Van Dijk
The Liverpool captain explained what he is expecting from today’s game and claims playing against Unai Emery’s side will be ‘tough’.
In his programme notes column he wrote: “It is hard not to be impressed by what Villa have achieved under Unai Emery in the last couple of seasons. They are one of the strongest teams in the Premier League and have enjoyed a really good start to their Champions League campaign too. Their collective organisation, combined with their individual quality, makes them a really tough opponent for anybody.
“We need to be at our best to beat them, then. We knew that this block of fixtures was going to be really difficult – and we have another equally tough set coming up – so if we could head into the final international break of the year with another three points in the bag, we would be extremely satisfied.”
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