For the second week in a row Liverpool managed a scrappy, nervy but ultimately deserved victory against dogged opposition who didn’t create much but thwarted the Reds for much of the game.
An appalling refereeing performance from Stuart Atwell in the first half – part of which involved him tolerating blatant time-wasting and slowing-the-game tactics from Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa – contributed to Liverpool’s frustrations as their methodical play was replaced by anxiety and rushing.
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, who started ahead of the only-fit-enough-for-the-bench Diogo Jota, while last week’s goalscoring hero Divock Origi was out altogether with a minor knee problem, struggled in the false nine position.
However, it was Oxlade Chamberlain who came closest to scoring for the Reds with one of his trademark outside-the-area strikes that had Emi Martinez in the Villa goal beaten, but was two feet too high.
Apart from one a couple of half-hearted penalty shouts for fouls on Andy Robertson, this was pretty much all Liverpool managed in the first forty-five.
The second half was much of the same. Liverpool having an overwhelming amount of possession and creating enough chances to score, but lacking the decisive final pass or finish.
Just when it seemed we were going to be talking about a heroic defensive performance from the visitors with their captain Tyrone Mings seemingly getting his head on everything and launching himself into unlikely blocks, the Villa centre half on 67 minutes made a fatal mistake.
The ever industrious Mo Salah found himself with the ball just outside the Villa box. He drove towards the goal marshalled by Mings; but rather than let the Liverpool striker run down towards the line and out of room, the Villa defender panicked and decided to try and nick the ball away from Salah. He missed the ball, clipped the Reds forward, who went tumbling.
A penalty, a soft penalty, but a penalty just the same.
In basketball, such an infraction would be called a reach-in foul, and it’s one an experienced defender like Mings, who is deemed good enough to play for England, should not have made.
Once VAR had confirmed that Atwell had not made a clear and obvious error in awarding the spot kick – I doubt VAR would have overturned Atwell’s decision if he had initially gone the other way and not given a foul – Salah composed himself and, despite Martinez’ antics on the goal line, struck the ball perfectly, low into the corner of the goal beyond the keeper’s reach.
The last 20 minutes of the game involved Villa searching for the equaliser and they did so with much threat, particularly down their right with wing-back Matty Cash finding himself in one dangerous position after another.
Villa’s pressure should’ve paid off on 85 minutes, when a mix up at the back between Alisson Becker and Joel Matip ended with the ball breaking to substitute Danny Ings.
In attempting to swipe the ball away from the ex-Liverpool man, Becker looked as if he missed it altogether and caught the forward’s shin causing him to fall in the box.
If Atwell had awarded a penalty, no Liverpool fan could’ve argued against it, but the referee decided there was no infringement and VAR decided any error wasn’t so significant as to warrant the overturning of the decision. Villa will count themselves unlucky.
Still, Liverpool had chances to score on the break as Villa poured forward. Jota – having come on for Oxlade Chamberlain after an hour – wasting golden opportunities to put the game to bed and ease Liverpool nerves, which only calmed on the final whistle.
