Aston Villa vs. Liverpool: Winners and Losers from FA Cup
Aston Villa upset the odds to beat Liverpool 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, going through to meet Arsenal in the final itself on May 30.
Philippe Coutinho scored a deflected opener to put the Reds ahead, but Villa came back quickly, with Christian Benteke finishing off a flowing move. Benteke was involved again as Fabian Delph scored the winner early in the second half, and Liverpool had no real response, with a Mario Balotelli strike being incorrectly chalked off for offside.
Here are all the winners and losers from Wembley.
Winner: Fabian Delph
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Man of the match Fabian Delph put in a monstrous performance for his side, mixing his own technical traits with his powerful runs from deep and showing all the confidence that comes with improved results and the captain's armband.
Quite aside from being the match-winner, Delph was the most commanding performer in midfield out of both teams, easily powering past the likes of Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson at times with nobody tracking the runs from deep.
His goal was well taken, and later he helped defend stoutly as Villa saw out the victory.
Loser: Brendan Rodgers
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After two improved performances using a back four for Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers opted to switch back to the previously used 3-4-2-1 for the FA Cup semi-final.
Such were Liverpool's issues in trying to get to grips with the game, though, that they continually switched tactics and formations throughout, with a marked lack of success. Whether it was a 4-2-3-1 for the latter stages of the first half or a three-man midfield with Steven Gerrard deepest after the break, Liverpool were unable to get a foothold in the match and control proceedings.
Having now failed to get past the semis in either domestic competition, Rodgers will now come under more pressure with his job if the gap between Liverpool and the teams in the top four increases before the end of the season.
Winner: Jack Grealish
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For all the established creative talent on show in the pregame team-sheets, it was youngster Jack Grealish who caught the eye most frequently during the fixture with a series of driving runs from deep, impressive dribbling and eye-catching passing.
He was instrumental in Villa's second goal, making a run into space from deep to link play between the forward and the onrushing midfielder, assisting Delph with a disguised reverse pass.
Grealish caused plenty of problems for Liverpool, and it would have been a relief to those in the defensive ranks when he was subbed late on.
Regarding Grealish's performance, Villa manager Tim Sherwood told BBC Sport:
"The bigger the stage, the better he plays, and that's a sign of real talent. He's a player I looked at before I came to the club, and if you give him instructions he sticks to the plan. He's very durable; he's a big guy—he takes more even kicks in training than on the pitch. But he's only a kid and he's still learning.
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Loser: Liverpool's Big Match-Winners
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Raheem Sterling, Steven Gerrard, Mario Balotelli, Jordan Henderson—for all the experience, excitement, pace and scoring prowess that Liverpool's big attackers are supposed to bring, there was a massive lack of final-third penetration or imagination at Wembley.
Only Philippe Coutinho, in the first half at least, looked anything like a threat, and even that died after the break until the late stages of the game.
In his recap of the match for the Liverpool Echo, Ian Doyle noted:
"What will hurt Liverpool fans most is it was clear Villa wanted it more. They had the greater hunger and desire. By contrast, Rodgers' men – even accounting for the lengthy absentee list – appeared to freeze once more.
That is a major, major worry for a team harbouring ambitions of winning silverware.
Now the Reds must concentrate on the unlikely event of chasing down a Champions League berth.
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Whether it was the formation, the mentality or the game plan of the team, nothing worked with any real conviction for the Reds. Big questions have to be asked over how such a group of supposedly impressive players weren't able to conjure up even a series of half-chances for so long against a team fighting off relegation in the Premier League.
Winner: Tim Sherwood
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Who else could be our final mention?
Tim Sherwood has had jokes and insinuations thrown his way, not entirely unwarranted at times, but the facts speak for themselves: From looking like being battlers below the dotted line, Villa are playing more expressive and offensive football, look far more confident and now have an FA Cup final to look forward to.
With key players like Grealish and Delph, Benteke and Ron Vlaar, all back fit and looking impressive, there is plenty to look forward to over the remainder of the season and into next year. How long Sherwood can keep up the impetus remains to be seen, but Villa fans will certainly be happy that they got the decision right to turn this particularly dreadful season into, potentially, one that could live long in the memory.
