Aston Villa 4-2 Liverpool: The Big Match Review

The Reds lost away at Villa Park, and Champions League qualification is now a major doubt after being embarrassed and “crumbling” in the defeat against Aston Villa. This leaves Liverpool in a perilous position as they are now reliant on other Premier League teams picking up points to help their fight for Europe. 

Match Review

After initially fighting back after going behind just before the break, a potential heroic comeback performance was on the cards, but as we have seen repeatedly this season, this squad is beaten and uninspired. The second-half capitulation raises the question: Has this squad even shown they deserve to be in the Champions League? Virgil van Dijk showed up with a true captain’s performance, scoring twice, but there’s only so much one man can do in a team of 11.

The failure to convincingly win a string of games can be traced to our lineups; consistently changing formations and playing players out of position routinely hinders us. This cannot be completely attributed to Slot as he must work with a team that is injury-ridden, but since our defence has been our weakness this year, it would be only right to build some regularity in the back four to ensure our defenders are on the same page.

This week, Joe Gomez replaced Curtis Jones at right back, who was moved into midfield. Szoboszlai was on the right, replacing Frimpong, and MacAllister was in a more advanced position behind Gakpo with Rio Ngumoha.

Credit: Rousing The Kop

This is a talented team, and as is the case with most games, chances were abundant as we had 14 shots on goal. The difference between Villa and us, however, was our confidence, which directly influenced the scoreline. An in-form Ollie Watkins is a very dangerous forward, and after knocking on the door a few times, registering a shot on target in the first 2 minutes, he scored twice, and his goals were a catalyst that spurred Villa on to take control of the game.

Ngumoha is relishing his role on the left wing for us; his fearlessness gives our attack hope, and he almost stands out as an outlier, performing like he has something to prove. He set up an early chance for a Gravenberch shot that led to a goal from Gakpo before it was ruled offside.

What the team needs is less timidity in front of the goal and to take more chances. Despite the heavy loss, the players are showing more desire to take shots, and if only there were more composure at the back, scorelines would improve dramatically. 

Ngumoha not only looks to find his teammates in scoring positions but also creates the chances for himself. These are the attributes we expected to see more regularly from our big-money signing, Florian Wirtz, who has shown flashes of brilliance but has been inconsistent. He hit the post when we were level, an indicator not just of his ability but also of his mindset as a forward. He wants to be the man who finds gold for his team, and very nearly went on to do so. 

Credit: Liverpool.com

Szoboszlai slipping to allow Watkins to score would’ve been a shocking talking point for the game, but Liverpool have conceded from defensive errors so often this season that it doesn’t shock anybody watching. 

Szoboszlai himself has been a standout player for us this year, rescuing us from defeat with his impeccable ball-striking, and he provided both assists for VVD in the match. Unfortunately, not for the first time, his work was undone, and after his mistake, Morgan Rogers found Watkins for a routine finish. 

John McGinn buried the game with an outstanding curled shot, but a glaring issue during that sequence was that three Liverpool players were near enough to close him down, yet none of them did so effectively. If confidence isn’t being expressed, pride must be, because losing to your competitors who are fighting for the same qualification place as you should cause the players to show tremendous effort and desire, and there was none displayed. 

The team needs to come together before our last game against Brentford and finally give the fans what they have been demanding all season: strength and desire. There are many reasons to play the last game, so a powerful display is necessary to give fans hope going into next season.

Match Ratings: