Suman Sengupta. sports, Asiana Times.
Source: webringnet.com
Aston Villa vs Liverpool: Joel Matip and Sadio Mane scored 2 goals as Liverpool defeat Villa and keep the pressure on Man City.
- Aston Villa vs Liverpool: Liverpool wins 2 to 1 against Aston Villa
- Liverpool: 4:3:3, Aston Villa: 4:3:1:2.
- Liverpool- Joel Matip 6 (1), Sadio Mane 65(2), Aston Villa-Pablo Douglas Luiz 3 (1)
- Sadio Mane makes an epic comeback at the 65th minute and keeps Liverpool afloat against Man City.
- Lineups- Aston Villa: Damian Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne, Paulo Douglas Luiz, Marvelous Nakamba, John Mc Ginn, Philippe Coutinho, Ollie Watkins, Danny Ings.
- Chambers, Ashley Young, Robin Olsen, Carney Chukuwuemeka(substituted 62nd minute), Benjamin Chrisene, Tim Iroengbunam.
Subs- Morgan Sanson, Emiliano Buendia (substituted 70th minute), Bertrand Traore(substituted 81st minute), Callum
- Lineups- Liverpool: Ramses Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Naby Keita, Henrique Fabinho, Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota . Subs- Ibrahima Konate, Alacantara Thiago (substituted 62nd minute), James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah (substituted 72nd minute, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson (substituted 30th minute) Divock Origi, Caoimhin Kelleher.
The match against Tottenham was a stalemate for the Reds. To add to its anxieties, Man City won Sunday’s game against Newcastle. By now the Reds were in a now or never situation. The biggest news in the football world was the City’s purchasing of the Norwegian finisher Erling Haaland. Commentators were anxious about Haalad’s purchase. They wondered if this signalled an eventual monopoly of Man City in the league. If this were to be the eventual scenario, then was yesterday’s game EPL’s last title race for the next five years? Yet Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard hailed what he saw as the “best Liverpool team” to date.
The Game
And Gerrard was right; yesterday’s match at Villa Park saw the Reds rise from their setback and challenge Man City for good. The first few minutes witnessed a stupendous performance from Villa. Alisson saved a shot by Ollie Watkins but fell before Douglas Luiz. Defenders like Tsimikas, Matip, and Villa’s Watkins fell on the floor. Jurgen Klopp was left confused and red-faced. The Reds would level up with an equaliser by Joel Matip. Gradually Liverpool settled down with more ball possession, yet the threat from Villa remained. Coutinho’s deep angled cross and the follow-up by Mings did render the Reds vulnerable. Fabinho got injured and had to be replaced by Jordan Henderson. Meanwhile, Nabby Keita missed a chance to score for Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold considered that Arnold’s position was unmarked and he passed him the ball. Yet Keita missed at ten yards from the goal post
The decisive blow came during the second half. By then Aston Villa had worn out and wasn’t as threatening as they were in the first half. Liverpool had worn them down. By the 65th minute, Liverpool had successfully launched an attack on Villa’s defence. Thiago had won the ball in the midfield and passed it to Mane. He passed it to Jota who passed it to Diaz on the left. Diaz bypassed Mings and crossed Mane who delivered a header to the goal. Even then Villa remained a threat. During the 84th minute, Danny Ings, of Aston Villa, even managed to shoot from a tight angle, yet was blocked by the goalkeeper Alisson. Ings attempted again at the 90th minute and was cleared was Van Dijk. By the 94th minute, Liverpool’s victory seemed apparent and with it, they have further challenged Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp is “ Chasing like Mad” for the Premier League
After this resounding win against Aston Villa, Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp seemed confident of his team and their ability to stay in the race for the league titles. While he conceded that Man City has bought a “beast” in Erling Haaland, Klopp further said: “For me, it is no problem. I have invited my boys to follow my mindset. We are still chasing like mad. We just know we have to win and now we have to recover and then play the FA cup final [on Saturday] because there is no mercy anywhere because of this situation [where we are] qualifying for all the finals. We play an incredibly big game and from Thursday on we will prepare.”
