Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 3 - Report
Villa paid the price for lacking poise in both boxes as their Premier League season restarted with defeat to Liverpool.
Mo Salah put the Reds in front by finishing an excellent team goal before Virgil Van Dijk took advantage of slack defending to double the lead.
Ollie Watkins got Villa back into the contest with a deserved goal just before the hour mark as Unai Emery’s hosts hit back after the break.
But 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic pounced on more sloppy defending to score his first senior goal and kill off hopes of a fightback.
Villa had looked capable of salvaging at least a draw prior to then and created more than enough good chances to have taken something from the match.
Yet they lacked the killer touch when it mattered, Watkins and Leon Bailey both missing golden opportunities before the former eventually found the net, heading home Douglas Luiz’s cross.
At the other end, Liverpool always posed a threat and always had the upper hand once Salah had fired them ahead following excellent work from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson.
The defeat was the first in the Premier League of Emery’s reign and leaves Villa sitting 12th in the table.
Robin Olsen had shaken off his own minor niggle in time to replace Emi Martinez in the Villa goal, who will return to Bodymoor Heath later this week.
The only slight surprise in the line-up was the presence of Ashley Young at right-back in place of Matty Cash. Young’s 16-year-old namesake, Kadan, was named on the bench. Liverpool welcomed back goalkeeper Alisson Becker and defender Virgil van Dijk following the World Cup.
It was Villa who created the first chance of the game but Watkins was unable to get any power on his finish after being found by Emi Buendia’s flick over the top.
Seconds later it was Liverpool on the attack, Darwin Nunez dummying Robertson’s cross and Mings colliding with Olsen before Digne put the ball behind.
From the corner came the goal. Bailey cleared but only as far as Alexander-Arnold, who picked out the run of Robertson with the outside of his right boot. The latter’s first touch sent the ball flying low across goal for Salah to convert at the far post.
Villa had good chances to level but Bailey lost his footing and skied over when meeting a Buendia cross, with Watkins then sending a diving header into the ground and straight at Alisson after being picked out beautifully by McGinn.
Liverpool were causing plenty of trouble themselves and much of Villa’s defending had a definite last-ditch element to it. In one chaotic passage of play, one pass out of defence sparked a counter with Ezri Konsa slicing his clearance and Nunez volleying straight at Olsen.
The keeper would deny Nunez again soon after when he got fingertips on a deflected cross but from the corner Liverpool went further ahead. Alexander-Arnold's delivery was not dealt with and Salah teed up Van Dijk to hit a drive which went in via a deflection off Konsa.
Nunez had the chance to put the result beyond doubt on the stroke of half-time but fired straight at Olsen from point-blank range as Villa again failed to deal with a set piece.
The hosts began the second half with renewed purpose and thought they had halved the deficit when Watkins finished impressively past Alisson from the edge of the box, only for the striker to be flagged marginally offside.
McGinn then became the latest player to squander a good chance when he headed straight at Liverpool’s keeper from close range, with Buendia also sweeping an effort into the side netting.
But Salah then came close to sealing it when he powered away from Luiz and Digne on the counter, only to be denied by the legs of Olsen, who then saw Fabinho send a long-range effort just wide of the target.
Villa were pushing though and after Bailey missed another good chance, Watkins finally got the goal both he and the team deserved when he headed home Luiz’s cross from the right.
It was the home team bossing it now but the visitors were getting chances on the break. Nunez missed a golden one, pulling a shot wide after being sent clear by Mo Salah.
With nine minutes to go substitute Bajcetic made no mistake. Nunez kept the ball in play after a heavy first touch and when Olsen could only palm the ball out the teenager kept his cool to round the keeper and squeeze a finish under Mings.
Teams
Villa (4-2-2-2): Olsen, Young A, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Luiz, Kamara (Dendoncker 86), Buendia (Coutinho 86), McGinn, Bailey (Ings 86), Watkins Subs not used: Cash, Chambers, Bednarek, Archer, Young K, Marschall (gk).
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold (Gomez 78), Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Thiago (Keita 66), Fabinho, Henderson (Bajcetic 78), Salah, Nunez (Doak 88), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Elliott 66) Subs not used: Gomez, Tsimikas, Carvalho, Phillips, Doak, Kelleher (gk).
