Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa: Reds maintain top spot
Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa: Reds maintain top spot. Arne Slot and his Liverpool side maintained excellent fine form as they extended their lead at the top of the Premier League after claiming a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Anfield.
The Reds looked set to run away with it after Darwin Nunez opened the scoring early in the first half, but Villa did everything they could inorder to make life hard for their hosts from then on.
However, Villa were the architect of their downfall as their missed chances were ultimately punished late on when Mohamed Salah raced away to clinch the three points and ensure Manchester City’s defeat to Brighton earlier in the day did not go to waste.
How the game unfolded;
Liverpool made the stronger start of the two teams in terms of dominating possession, but it was Villa who had the most promising moments, Jacob Ramsey seeing a shot desperately blocked before Leon Bailey headed over a Youri Tielemans cross early doors.
However, it was a moment of pressure from the visitors that ultimately led to them conceding the opener, with Liverpool breaking away after defending a corner and putting in Nunez to round the goalkeeper before finishing.
If that was an unusually composed finish from the Uruguayan, then he was back to himself shortly after, blasting over a similar one-on-one opportunity after being played in by Salah.
That gave Villa encouragement, and they were desperately unlucky not to score from back-to-back corner situations, Amadou Onana forcing a sharp save from Caoimhin Kelleher with a header before Diego Carlos did the same.
Having arguably edged the first half, Villa started the second by creating a golden opportunity, Morgan Rogers collecting a second ball before driving into the box and shooting wide when he might have done better.
Liverpool responded, with Nunez heading an Andy Robertson cross just wide, but they would have to wait until there were 20 minutes remaining for their next chance, which saw Cody Gakpo drive wide after cutting in off the left.
That was because the game had largely descended into a physical battle with neither side on top, a state of play that continued into the final stages.
But Liverpool finally managed to wrap the points up with five minutes remaining, Salah breaking free on the break and making the most of a fortuitous bounce of the ball before finishing coolly.
