Premier League leaders Liverpool moved five points clear of Manchester City after defeating Aston Villa 2-0 on Saturday night.
Premier League
Result: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Date: 09 November 2024
Venue: Anfield
Reds coach Arne Slot made just two changes for the clash, as Darwin Nunez came in for Cody Gakpo while Andrew Robertson was recalled to left-back as Kostas Tsimikas dropped to the bench.
The visiting side looked lively on the counter attack in the early stages, with Ollie Watkins and Jacob Ramsey seeing a lot of the ball although they did not trouble Reds goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
The Reds took the lead on 20 minutes when a swift counter-attack ended with Nunez rounding goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez before firing into an empty net after some good work by Mohamed Salah.
Slot was forced to make a change soon after as Trent Alexander-Arnold limped off midway in the first period and had to be replaced by Conor Bradley.
Villa did have a couple chances to pull themselves level shortly before the break but Kelleher produced two good saves in quick succession to deny Amadou Onana and Diego Carlos.
The second continued in similar fashion to the first, although Rogers squandered a chance to level matters early on by firing wide from close range after some good build-up play.
Villa coach Unai Emery responded with a double change after the hour mark as Jhon Duran and Jaden Philogene replaced Watkins and Leon Bailey, while the Reds introduced Dominik Szoboszlai and Gakpo.
However, the Reds would go on to seal the win in the 84th minute when Mohamed Salah pounced on an erro from Carlos to race clear on goal and calmly lobbed the on-rushing Martinez.
