View: Three things learned in Aston Villa 1-3 Liverpool
All good things have to come to an end and Boxing Day saw Unai Emery’s perfect Premier League run come to an end as Aston Villa lost 3-1 to Liverpool.
It was by no means a poor performance from the hosts, and the Spaniard will take lots of positives from how his side matched up against one of the Premier League’s best. Jurgen Klopp’s men may have endured a tough start to the season, but they still hold fantastic quality all over the pitch and on the bench.
Six shots on target (Wyscout), 51 per cent possession and a goal against Liverpool is certainly good going from the Villans, and there should be plenty of hope that they can get back to winning ways against a stuttering Tottenham side on 1 January. Here Villa News takes a look at three things we learned from the defeat at Villa Park.
Plenty of chances
It’s safe to say Villa created more than enough chances to win the game and that they shouldn’t have scored just one goal against the Reds. Ollie Watkins certainly gets a lot of opportunities due to his clever movement when he’s played centrally, but his finishing continues to let him down.
The 26-year-old managed three shots on target and six touches in the penalty area, and considering some of his missed opportunities, he will be disappointed not to have scored another goal at the very least.
Villa’s creative players certainly improved the quality of their delivery with an overall crossing accuracy of 56 per cent, which is 25 per cent higher than their season’s average. The signs were certainly there going forward, but against the best teams in the league, a clinical edge is simply a must.
Leaky
Liverpool are a tough test, but when you concede three goals it’s always going to be an uphill task. Villa were solid against Brighton and Manchester United, but Emery’s rigid defence deserted him last night (26 December).
Villa allowed their visitors 15 shots during the fixture, with nine of them being on target. Unfortunately, the quality Liverpool have will hurt teams who gift them chances. Darwin Nunez was set through far too often and should’ve punished Villa further.
Emery’s side were obviously chasing the game, but it is important for the Spaniard to find a perfect balance between defence and attack. Virgil Van Dijk’s goal will infuriate for Spaniard, with there being a number of static Villa players in the box. Against the best, they cannot afford to gift easy goals away.
Gulf in quality
Despite Liverpool squandering a number of chances, there must be an acceptance amongst Aston Villa fans that there is sometimes a gulf in quality which cannot be bridged. Mo Salah’s first goal was simply magnificent from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson and sometimes you simply have to hold your hands up to an exquisite piece of play.
The challenge for Emery and the Villa board is to try and bridge the gap to some of the biggest teams in the country, who are, at the moment, on a different planet in terms of ability and the resources available to them.
In other Aston Villa news, The day Villa went berserk at the Bridge: Eight goals, two penalties, and three sent off in 2007 bonanza