Aston Villa and Liverpool held each other to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Villa Park on Wednesday, in a game brought forward due to Liverpool’s involvement in the Carabao Cup final on March 16th.
Mohamed Salah took advantage of a concentration lapse from Villa defender Andres Garcia to break the deadlock in the 29th minute, but Villa went to the break ahead after Youri Tielemans (38′) and Ollie Watkins (45+3′) turned the contest around. The last impact on the scoreboard, however, belonged to Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose deflected 61st-minute effort somehow ended up hitting the back of the net.
Teams
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery could not call upon defenders Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres, midfielders Ross Barkley and Boubacar Camara, or winger Leon Bailey.
With Emiliano Martinez in goal, Tyrone Mings joined Axel Disasi in the heart of defence, flanked by Lucas Digne on the left and Andres Garcia on the right. John McGinn paired up with Tielemans in the middle of the park, while Marco Asensio, Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford supported Watkins up front.
Arne Slot in the away dugout had fewer injury problems to work around, but he was still without defender Joe Gomez and forward Cody Gakpo.
Alisson Becker stood between the posts. Virgil van Dijk had Ibrahima Konate by his side at the back, with Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson on the defensive flanks. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister were the midfield duo, while striker Diogo Jota had Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones in support.
Match recap
Liverpool commenced the match assertively, and Salah broke the deadlock less than half an hour in. A woefully misjudged back-pass by Aston Villa’s Garcia allowed Jota to intercept and set up Salah, who finished confidently into the roof of the net.
However, Aston Villa responded resiliently. In the 38th minute, Marcus Rashford, in tone with the high-quality full Villa debut against the arch-rivals of his parent club, delivered a curling free-kick into the penalty area. The ball eventually fell to Youri Tielemans, who volleyed past Alisson to equalize.
Buoyed by the equalizer, Villa seized the momentum. Just before halftime, Lucas Digne’s precise cross found Ollie Watkins, who headed home to give Aston Villa a 2-1 lead at the break.
Liverpool began the second half with renewed determination, seeking to overturn the deficit. In the 61st minute, Alexander-Arnold played a nice one-two with Salah and fired low, catching a deflection off Mings to wrong-foot Martinez and setting the score level.. This goal revitalized Liverpool’s attack, leading to increased pressure on the Villa defence for a while. A pivotal moment occurred when substitute Darwin Nunez missed a clear opportunity to secure the win for Liverpool, firing over the bar from close range. This miss was widely criticized, with Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler describing it as “criminal”, and it seemed to have given the home side fresh energy.
Villa were the dominant side towards the end, but the score remained unchanged.
Reactions
Liverpool manager Arne Slot expressed frustration over the missed chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League. He acknowledged the team’s mostly good performance but lamented the lack of precision in finishing. He also noted Nunez’s disappointment following his missed opportunity, emphasizing the need for clinical finishing in crucial moments but also the need to respond the right way after such a set-back.
Nunez does have a reputation for wasting clear-cut chances and he certainly deserves it, but in all fairness this one wasn’t quite as easy to score as many seem to think. The Uruguayan was at a full sprint when Szoboszlai gave him the ball, he had to hit it with his weaker left foot, and Villa defender Disasi had made a last-gasp tackle which would’ve probably blocked the shot had it been going on target anyway.
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Emery, meanhwile, praised his team’s resilience and ability to capitalize on Liverpool’s errors. He highlighted the positive impact of new signing Marcus Rashford and commended the squad’s overall performance against the league leaders.
Rashford truly played a very good game, giving Alexander-Arnold a proper headache throughout. With him in their team, along with Asensio, Rogers and Watkins, Villa truly have a formidable attacking department.
Table implications
The 2-2 draw allowed Liverpool to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points, with 12 games remaining in the season. However, they will have hoped for more, as second-placed Arsenal now have a game in hand and will soon have an opportunity to reduce the gap – it would, of course, make the title race far more exciting than Liverpool would want it.
Aston Villa remained in ninth place with 39 points, maintaining their position in the league. The result showcased their capability to challenge top-tier teams and could serve as a confidence boost for their upcoming fixtures, but like Liverpool, they’ll likely feel that they could’ve gotten more than a point with the race for European places already a packed affair.