Aston Villa player ratings v Liverpool: One scores 9/10 but two dealt 5/10s in thriller - gallery

Player ratings from Aston Villa’s thrilling draw with Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League.

Aston Villa kept their European dreams alive with a vital point in a thrilling and tense 1-1 draw away at Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. Unai Emery’s side deservedly opened the scoring through a clinical Jacob Ramsey volley in the first half and they were so close to securing a famous victory at Anfield but couldn’t quite hold on. The Villans were made to rue a missed Ollie Watkins penalty as Roberto Firmino, who was playing his final home game for the Reds, came off the bench to grab a dramatic equaliser in the 90th minute. It turned out to be one of those ‘what if’ afternoons but the goal was certainly coming as Jurgen Klopp’s side put on a serious onslaught in the closing stages.

Liverpool had the brighter start of the two teams as Villa took a little while to get accustomed to the pace of the game, giving away a few cheap fouls in the process. The first huge opportunity of the encounter did come to the visitors, though, as Watkins was played through on goal by a delightful John McGinn through ball. Reds defender Ibrahima Konate went in to make a challenge but got it all wrong, taking Watkins down and causing referee John Brooks to point to the spot. Knowing how much taking a lead at Anfield would mean, the pressure was immense and it really got to Watkins as he stepped up and put his penalty well wide of the post to keep the score at 0-0.

Villa had squandered their chance to go ahead but didn’t let it bring them down as they pushed hard to apply pressure on the Reds. Emery’s side bombarded the hosts with some dangerous crosses until one finally paid off as Ramsey got into a brilliant position at the far post. Douglas Luiz put in a delightful whipped ball and Villa’s number 41 was there to hit it first-time, converting with a composed and clinical volley to make it 1-0. Anfield was silenced as the traveling support took control of the chants under the Merseyside sun; a huge goal to give Emery’s men the advantage.

The Villans very nearly got a second in the 39th minute as Luiz took a clever free-kick. Spotting a late run from Ramsey, the Brazilian timed his pass to perfection and Villa’s goalscorer found himself one-on-one with Alisson. Ramsey did manage to get a shot away but Liverpool’s goalkeeper did enough to smother the effort. The Reds then went down the other end of the field to push for an equaliser and Tyrone Mings was very close to being sent off. Lifting his boot to clear from Cody Gakpo, the defender went high and followed through on the Liverpool man’s chest. He was booked and it then went to VAR, but it was - just about - deemed as no serious foul play.

Liverpool started the second period with far more urgency and showed better progression on the ball to cause some issues for Villa, one of which really upped the tension in the ground. The Reds thought they’d equalised - and they had for a couple of minutes - as Gakpo poked home from close range. The Dutchman followed up from a Konate effort that had been cleared off the line by Mings but a long VAR check showed an offside in the build-up. It was the right decision eventually, but that certainly didn’t mean it was easy for the fans in the ground – especially in the away end.

Villa were dealt a double blow when Lucas Digne went off with a back problem in the 53rd minute and then his replacement, Alex Moreno, was forced to be substituted with a hamstring injury just 10 minutes after entering the field. The visitors did an outstanding job immediately afterward to limit Liverpool’s threat despite fitness struggles, with Ashley Young playing as a make-shift left-back and McGinn moving to a wide midfield role. The ante was upped shortly after, however when Klopp decided to bring on Firmino, James Milner and Kostas Tsimikas to switch things up for the home side.

It seemed as if Villa were going to hold on as they looked comfortable heading into the closing moments, but the impending doom set in as 10 added minutes looked set to be on the cards. It didn’t even need to get to that point, though, as Anfield was set alight by a very late Firmino goal. Saying farewell in his final-ever home game for the Reds, the Brazilian got across to poke it home from a superb outside-of-the-boot cross from Mohamed Salah. The goal roared Liverpool back into life and Villa were left hanging on for dear life but managed to just about keep the score at 1-1 for a huge point on the road. Here are our player ratings.

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