Peter Lynch

Sun 3 September 2023 15:54, UK

Aston Villa lost for the second time in the new Premier League campaign as they suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool.

The Reds enjoyed a blistering start at Anfield on Sunday (3 September), with early first-half goals courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai and Matty Cash finding his own net.

Star winger Mohamed Salah then added a third in the second half to secure a very straightforward win for Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Here Villa News rates the players out of ten for the loss that leaves the club sitting 11th in the table, with Liverpool climbing up to third.

Emi Martinez – 5

Could do very little to prevent the goals at Anfield, but the Argentine goalkeeper did at least prevent the scoreline from being any worse with his two saves [SofaScore].

Matty Cash – 4

Like his fellow defenders, Cash was in for a tough afternoon off the ball from the very first whistle, but he also struggled on the ball, completing just one of his five attempted long passes.

Ezri Konsa – 5

Was put under constant pressure from a deadly Liverpool attack that started the game very quickly, Konsa’s busy defensive shift involved three clearances, but he will be disappointed to have conceded three times.

Diego Carlos – N/A

The centre-back was forced off after just 19 minutes at Anfield with an injury, in yet another blow for the unfortunate defender.

Pau Torres – 3

Nearly gave away an early goal as he took a big risk trying to play out from the back, and from that moment was put under immense pressure from the Reds, with the defender struggling as he lost possession of the ball a match-high 16 times. He also posted a 0% accuracy from his five attempted long balls.

Lucas Digne – 5

Was pinned at left-back from the very start and so was not able to get forward well like he has done in previous matches, with Digne losing possession of the ball 12 times.

Douglas Luiz – 6 (Man of the Match)

Couldn’t get on the ball as much as he wanted to due to the impressive displays from Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister in the Liverpool midfield, but he was the standout player for the visitors with a 93% passing accuracy, along with his two tackles and six out of eight duels won.

Boubacar Kamara – 4

Struggled to keep up with the pace of the match at Anfield, with Kamara losing possession of the ball seven times throughout the 90 minutes, as well as committing one foul that resulted in the only yellow card of the match.

Moussa Diaby – 4

Tried his best to continue his superb start to his Villa career, but was thwarted well by the Liverpool defence when he did get going, with Diaby completing just one of his four dribble attempts.

John McGinn – 5

Not like his usual self for Unai Emery, with the normally reliable Scot struggling at Anfield as he finished the match with just a 66% passing accuracy.

Ollie Watkins – 4

Given the constant pressure Liverpool put the visitors under, Aston Villa striker Watkins saw very little of the ball in the final third, with the striker touching the ball just 20 times throughout his 73 minutes on the pitch.

Substitutes

Leon Bailey – 5 (on for Carlos, 19’) – Was bright at times following his early introduction at Anfield, trying his best to take the game to the Reds, with Bailey successful with two of his three dribble attempts.

Nicolo Zaniolo (on for Bailey, 65’) – N/A

Youri Tielemans (on for Luiz, 73′) – N/A

Jhon Duran (on for Watkins, 73′) – N/A

In other Aston Villa news, one player failed to impress in the 3-1 win against Burnley on Sunday (27 August), with a lack of squad depth only saving him from the axe.