Liverpool vs. Aston Villa: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match
Liverpool slightly eased the pressure on manager Brendan Rodgers as they squeezed past Aston Villa 3-2 at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday.
Former Villa man James Milner opened the scoring after just 66 seconds, and second-half braces from Daniel Sturridge and Rudy Gestede in the space of 12 minutes ensured a tense finish to the game.
The match marks the first time Liverpool have scored more than once this season and the first time since February they've hit three.
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Milner captained the Reds, who began with Sturridge and Danny Ings up front, while Gestede spearheaded Villa's front line.
Liverpool, who took 58 shots against Carlisle in midweek and scored just once, stunned Villa with their first effort of the match as Milner picked up a ball from Philippe Coutinho on the edge of the area and sent a low drive past Brad Guzan.
The visitors should perhaps have had an equaliser five minutes later through Gestede, but the Benin international sent his header wide. He was guilty of missing an even better chance midway through the half after Emre Can's attempted clearance fell to him inside the area, again missing the target under little pressure from Liverpool.
The Reds had some half-chances of their own but once again failed to convince as they pushed for another goal, per the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce:
"Game just drifting a bit here. #LFC lacking a spark in the final third as they go in search of a 2nd goal. http://t.co/kLnki6wjIv
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) September 26, 2015"
The match exploded into life after the restart, though, and Sturridge had his first league goal in 266 days, per Squawka Football, as he struck home a lovely volley from Milner's cute flick over Villa's defence.
Gestede proved far more ruthless in the second half than he did in the first and pulled one back as he turned home Alan Hutton's cross.
Sturridge restored the two-goal lead a minute later after playing an impressive one-two with Coutinho. Sports writer Paul Tomkins believes the England international isn't given enough credit:
"Sturridge is possibly the most underrated player Liverpool have ever had. I mean, people do rate him, but rarely highly enough
— Paul Tomkins (@paul_tomkins) September 26, 2015"
Gestede grabbed his second shortly after, though, powering home a trademark header from Jordan Amavi's delivery from the left.
An end-to-end finish followed, with Idrissa Gueye coming close and Sturridge being denied a hat-trick by an excellent Guzan save, but the Reds ultimately hung on for a deserved win.
The win sees Liverpool move into the top half of the Premier League table. Sturridge's brace will give them huge encouragement, and the Reds will need him to repeat his efforts in tricky away matches with Everton and Tottenham Hotspur in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Villa continue in search of their first win since the opening day of the season. Should they fail to win their home tie with Stoke City in their next outing, the pressure could really start to pile up on manager Tim Sherwood.
Post-Match Reaction
Rodgers was in a defiant mood after the win, believing the "hysteria" around Liverpool's less-than-spectacular start to the season to be unfounded. Per Sky Sports, he said:
"I am pretty confident that there is a group of people that don't want me here to be the manager.
Sometimes we haven't lost games and the hysteria around it is pretty clear that there is maybe something else going on from behind. I am talking about people outside of here [the club].
In all competitions we have lost less games than Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal. We have lost two games, which is equivalent to Tottenham and Manchester United.
"
Sherwood was frank in his assessment of Villa's performance, admitting his side have a tough task ahead of them. Per Emlyn Begley of BBC Sport, he said:
"We can't score two away from home and lose—it happened against Leicester as well. You score twice at Anfield and you expect to leave with something. I've told the boys the goals were avoidable and we have to tighten up—Liverpool did not have to work too hard to get them, and we have to put that right.
"
He added: "Our performances have merited better than one win in seven games but I said from the start it would be an uphill struggle. We need to stay in the division and if we do we will be stronger next year."
