Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa: Premier League – live

8 hours ago 15

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Full time: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa

A rousing victory for Liverpool, who jump to third in the table after ending a run of four straight league defeats. Mo Salah scored his 250th goal for Liverpool after an errant pass –less charitable adjectives are available – by Emi Martinez on the stroke of half-time. Ryan Gravenberch scored the second on his return to the side.

It was a fun game, played at a furious pace. Villa hit the post twice at 0-0, once after a great save from Giorgi Mamardashvili, while there were several near misses at the other end.

It’s too early to say Liverpool are back, not least because their next two games are against Real Madrid and Manchester City, but this was arguably their best performance of the season.

90+2 min The Villa sub Tyrone Mings has gone off holding his hamstring, so they will be down to ten for the last couple of minutes. Poor guy has had no luck at all with injury.

90+1 min Four minutes of added time.

90 min Plenty of late pressure from Villa, with Sancho looking good on the left since coming on as substitute. Despite this result, their season is on an upward trajectory.

87 min Szoboszlai and … Unai Emery are booked after a row over a throw-in.

84 min “Given that Liverpool are playing well and up to third in the table, to whom does the coveted title of Bald Fraud™ pass?” wonders Kári Tulinius. “Nuno? I suppose if Bournemouth win tomorrow, it can be reclaimed by the original Bald Fraud™.”

I’ll have it. I always wanted to win something.

82 min “Wonderful to get two sports for the price of one in the same contest,” writes Colum Fordham. “The wrestling match between Mac Allister and Onana added to the fun of seeing the renewed intensity of a Liverpool side that has been out of sorts for the last four or five weeks. Slot out? Surely not! Hopefully the tide has turned and Liverpool have cashed in on Villa’s profligacy.”

Anyone who wanted Slot to be sacked after a few defeats should be banned from offering an opinion on football for the next five years.

80 min Rogers is booked for dissent.

80 min Gakpo has a shot blocked and Villa break through Rogers. The move peters out but Villa have come to life in the last few minutes and a goal would make things interesting.

79 min Sancho runs at Bradley and guides a neat pass into Barkley, 15 yards from goal. He shoots high and wide on the turn. Tough chance but classy play from Sancho, whose ceiling, though rarely visible, remains so high.

78 min: Liverpool substitution Florian Wirtz comes on for the impressive and hugely popular Hugo Ekitike.

76 min Ekitike backheels the ball to Robertson, whose brilliant cross is taken off Salah’s head by Maatsen at the far post. Superb defending.

75 min: Double substitution for Villa Jadon Sancho, Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen replace Lucas Digne, Ollie Watkins and Pau Torres.

74 min Mac Allister goes down again before the corner is taken. Then, when it is swung in, Onana is penalised for a foul on Mac Allister. They were basically re-enacting Hulk Hogan v Andre the Giant circa 1987.

73 min Villa win a corner on the right. Before it can be taken, Onana shoves Mac Allister over by the neck. He’s booked and VAR upholds the decision; that could easily have been a red card.

71 min The XI picked by Arne Slot tonight is much closer to last season’s, with Giorgio Mamardashvili and Hugo Ekitike the only new players, and it’s probably no coincidence that Liverpool have produced their best performance of this season. Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak are far too good to fail, but their integration may take longer than we envisaged.

70 min Malen almost changes the mood – and the scoreline – with a fierce shot that swerves not far wide of the near post. I suspect Mamardashvili had it covered though.

68 min So anyway, Slot out?

65 min Watkins fresh-airs an awkward volley from the left side of the box. Villa have contributed so much to this game but right now they look a beaten team.

63 min Liverpool rode their luck at times in the first half, when Villa hit the post twice, but overall their performance has been superb. While the result was always the most important thing tonight, this performance – full of the intensity and quality we saw throughout last season - feels like a palate-cleanser.

61 min “Stay focused for 90 minutes?” sniffs Simon McMahon. “I can barely concentrate for more than five these days, which is why I’m following the MBM at the same time as watching Girlbands Forever on telly, listening to the radio, writing emails, talking to cats and pouring large whiskies. Could Martinez do that?”

The pass for Salah’s goal made it look like he’d been on the whisky!!!!!! #roflcopter.

59 min: Double substitution for Villa Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen replace John McGinn and Evann Guessand.

After a couple of crisp passes, Gravenberch veered from right to centre and tried his luck from the edge of the D. His luck was in: the left-foot shot took a deflection and wrongfooted Martinez.

GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa (Gravenberch 58)

Ryan Gravenberch, back in the side to keep Liverpool’s sheet clean, helps sully Villa’s by scoring the second goal.

Ryan Gravenberch scores via a deflection.

57 min Cash is booked, I think for a foul on Ekitike.

54 min Rogers rolls Van Dijk, who bundles him over and is booked. Rogers is some footballer.

53 min Martinez makes a fine save to deny Bradley, though it wouldn’t have counted because Salah was offside in the build-up. Salah did brilliantly to head Gakpo’s cross back towards Bradley but he was a long way offside.

51 min Cash tries to curve an imaginative pass around the defence to put Guessand throug on goal. The sliding Robertson makes an important interception and, because it wasn’t a backpass, Mamardashvili is safe to pick the ball up.

49 min “Martinez is a good keeper, but he seems unable to stay focused for 90 minutes these days,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Marco Bizot is also a good keeper, who was great for Brest, and were I Unai Emery, I’d give him a run in goal for Villa.”

48 min Gakpo miscontrols a Salah pass right in front of goal. He was offside, though, and that’s probably why he lost concentration as it was a simple ball to control.

48 min A relatively quiet start to the second half.

47 min “The best half of attacking football Liverpool have played this season,” writes Matt Dony. “By a long way. You get the impression they’ll need to score one or two more to secure the victory, as Villa clearly have a couple of goals in them. But that’s encouraging. Also, a reminder of just how ridiculous Ian ‘Didn’t Even Take Penalties’ Rush’s goalscoring figures were. Wales have been blessed with some genuinely unbelievable players, but never enough at one time. And often in similar positions. Annoyingly.”

46 min Liverpool get the second half under way.

Half-time reading

All together now: Fashion, turn to the left…

Half time: Liverpool 1-0 Aston Villa

Fast, furious entertainment at Anfield. Villa hit the post twice, but Liverpool dominated possession and threatened regularly before Mo Salah punished a terrible pass from Emi Martinez.

Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa looks dejected after his mistake leads to Liverpool's first goal

See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

45+3 min Only Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285) have scored more goals for Liverpool than Mo Salah.

Mo Salah scores his 250th goal for Liverpool after a rank howler from Emi Martinez. He tried to pass the ball to Pau Torres on the left the Villa area, got his angles wrong and gave the ball straight to Salah. He guided an instant shot around Pau Torres and into the empty net with his right foot.

GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Aston Villa (Salah 45+2)

And now he’s back on the scoresheet!

45 min Salah slips Digne superbly, only for Onana to get back and put out the burgeoning fire. Salah has shown glimpses of his best tonight, particularly with those quick touches to evade an incoming defender.