Liverpool vs Aston Villa: Premier League – live | Premier League

Andy Hunter was at Anfield this evening. Here is his verdict. Thank you for reading this MBM. Nightly night!

Unai Emery speaks to TNT in a calm and philosophical mood. “Good evening… I'm happy with how we reacted… Liverpool are a very good team in the transition phase… They dominated but didn't have many clear chances to score… We had chances to score in the first and second half… we have more or less like that played the way I want…of course we can improve…the league is very close…many teams performed very well…we want to maintain the level we had last year…we are below that level, but I did it Confidence… the players are performing very well… we faced Tottenham and Liverpool away… everything was very difficult… we have to keep the same positive mentality… we keep going.”

A very relaxed and smiling Arne Slot speaks to TNT. “Salah has the best numbers of all our attackers… all of them have great numbers but he stands out… let's not forget the defensive run that Diaz made to ensure we kept a clean sheet… it wasn't easy… like most of our games …they weren't as aggressive as we thought…we were patient…sometimes still not patient enough…generally we were in control…it's not the first time Liverpool have scored from such breaks…we need to change the game more often than so far… We were outplayed too easily in pressing… we We need to do better… we're really happy that most of our players have stayed fit after a difficult period… we've had some tough tests… I'll take care of the international breaks and they're hard again! … so it's going to be a difficult season in general … the margins are small … now we have a small lead, but I think Mikel [Arteta] said they had already had a lot of difficult away games and had to play with ten men… we had difficult games too, but there are still a lot of challenges ahead of us.”

Under Arne Slot, Liverpool had previously developed a habit of stuttering through the first half and stepping on the accelerator after the break. Tonight the pattern was reversed: his team played with Klopp-like intensity in the first game and slowed down in the second. Either way it seems to be working and Liverpool are in extremely good shape heading into the international break. In contrast, Aston Villa have now lost their last four games in all competitions and have picked up just six points from their last 18 in the league. Still, they looked dangerous all evening against a team that hasn't conceded many goals this season and can certainly be helped by their performance. The international break may have come at the right time for a team to find out how the extra workload in the Champions League can impact a Premier League season.

Alexis Mac Allister speaks to TNT. “A very big win against a very good team… we dominated… we played a very good game… the goals came on counterattacks, but overall the team played a very good game… we're happy with it… we know we are at the top but there are There are still a lot of games left so we'll take it step by step… we watched the game… I'm happy for Brighton… I have special feelings for them… very grateful… but we don't think about other teams, we just focus on ourselves… If you're five points ahead of them, it means something… but we have to take it step by step… If you asked me before the season started, I would not saying that we are candidates, but now it looks like that… we will keep working and getting better… [Mohamed Salah] is so good and so important… for the team and the club… he's a legend here… you know he's going to deliver and get the numbers… we're glad he's playing for us.”

COMPLETE: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa

90 mins +3: Liverpool will now overcome this without any problems. The same couldn't be said before Salah's decisive goal. Villa put them under heavy pressure. Liverpool stood firm.

90 mins +2: A free kick for Villa on the right. McGinn swings the ball to the long stick, where Kelleher wins the ball and starts a quick counterattack. But the pinball game on the halfway line doesn't work out in Salah's favor this time.

90 mins +1: On TNT, Lucy Ward names Mohamed Salah her man of the match. “The match winner,” she explains. “That’s all there is to say.”

90 minutes: There are four additional minutes.

88 mins: The Liverpool fans sing their new song about Arne Slot. Everyone together is almost as loud as Jürgen Klopp was when he left last season.

87 mins: Maatsen dribbles hard down the left side and reaches the baseline, but his cutback isn't the whole deal and Konate is able to clear. Villa are quick to remind Liverpool that this game isn't quite over yet.

86 mins: Van Dijk helps Torres get up. Endo comes in for Mac Allister.

85 minutes: On the other hand, in front of goal, there is a VAR check for a possible penalty, but Torres ran into Gravenberch rather than the other way around. The gate is up!

GOAL! Liverpool – Aston Villa 2-0 (Salah 84)

82 mins: …then Duran at the other end prepares to meet a cross from the left, forcing Van Dijk to reach back and score a corner. This ball puts Liverpool in trouble as Philogene almost shoots the ball into the goal on the other stick, but the ball flies over the crossbar. Kelleher had it under control. Only. This game is really on the line and Villa are giving Liverpool a tough workout.

81 mins: …and Liverpool counterattacks again after a Villa corner! The hosts stream upstairs. Diaz looks to shoot from the edge of the box, but Konsa slides in and somehow holds both Diaz and Szoboszlai back! What a block!

80 minutes: Tielemans swings the corner into a crowded six-yard box. Kelleher goes to concede the ball, but Konate deflects the ball and instead deflects it for another corner. Maatsen and McGinn play short that one time and earn another one from Robertson. Maatsen swings this long shot from the right.

79 mins: Rogers works his way to the left to secure another Villa corner. Tielemans trots over to take over.

78 mins: The resulting free kick saw Villa almost beat Liverpool on their own and quickly countered with Philogene pondering a shot from the edge of the box. Diaz catches the ball from a long distance and grabs the ball just in time. The home fans warmly applaud his efforts.

77 mins: Kamara gets a warning for grabbing a handful of Gravenberch's shirt.

75 minutes: Szoboszlai runs down the right side and looks for Gakpo on the other floor with a low cross. Konsa freshens up a free kick – or is he deliberately doing nonsense? Either way, it confuses Gakpo, who surprisingly misses the ball himself. All very strange. But a great opportunity.

74 mins: … and here they come. Digne and Onana out, Maatsen and Kamara on.

73 mins: It's all a bit bumpy. Villa is preparing further changes.

71 mins: The free kick is hit wide. Gakpo blows the ball back into the mixer from the left, but that's an easy task for Martinez. However, Liverpool are soon back in action at Villa, with Gakpo looking far more threatening this time as he advances down the left wing. He cuts into the infield, but his shot goes completely wide. It disappears into the stand.

70 minutes: Another long pass from Van Dijk, this time down the right, is brought down by Salah, who is then tackled to the ground by McGinn. A free kick that Szoboszlai will take while pretty much everyone else is in the Villa box.

68 mins: Van Dijk hits a long pass down the left flank to Diaz, who should break free into the penalty area, but takes heavy contact with the ball and can only hook harmlessly into the middle from the baseline. Villa is easy to wipe up.

66 mins: Both teams make a double substitution. Liverpool replaced Jones and Ayler Nunez with Gakpo and Szoboszlai while Villa swaps Watkins and Bailey for Duran and Philogene.

64 mins: Mac Allister swings the free kick wide towards Diaz on the left edge of the six-yard box. Diaz wins a header, although not in a meaningful way. Goal kick.

63 mins: Liverpool pass and check, back and forth. Finally, Watkins cuts Bradley out on the right side. Free kick.