Heroes, villains & reaction as Liverpool squeeze past Villa on Gerrard’s Anfield return

Liverpool claimed a narrow victory over Aston Villa thanks to a second-half penalty as Steven Gerrard’s return to Anfield ended in defeat.

Mohamed Salah’s 67-minute spot-kick was enough to earn Jurgen Klopp’s side a 1-0 win over Villa on Saturday (11 December), although Gerrard was pleased with his side’s performance and felt Liverpool were fortunate to be awarded the penalty.

The former Liverpool captain was given a hero’s welcome on his Anfield return, with the Villans boss admitting his side were outplayed for much of the contest.

Gerrard’s frustration over ‘soft’ penalty

Despite the home side’s dominance, Gerrard said Villa ultimately only lost the game due to a “soft” penalty after Salah went down in the box and then scored the resulting spot kick himself.

Speaking after an emotional return to the club where he spent almost his entire career, Gerrard said: “Penalty box to penalty box Liverpool were better than us.

“But ultimately the game has been decided by a penalty. There were two penalty incidents in the game, Liverpool got theirs – and if you look at it, Salah fouls Tyrone Mings first.”

While his side ceded the majority of the possession, Gerrard felt his side should have had a spot kick too.

“I thought we had a decent shout for a penalty, there was certainly contact from Alisson on Danny Ings and if you follow it there is a two-hand shove on Ollie Watkins,” Gerrard said.

It was another resilient display by Villa, who continue to show major signs of improvement since the former Rangers manager replaced Dean Smith as head coach.

The result means Villa remain in 12th place, with Gerrard having registered three wins in his first five games as Villa boss - and his only two narrow defeats coming at the hands of title-chasers Manchester City and Liverpool.

Heroes

Emi Martinez

After a dip in form, Emi Martinez has returned to his best under Gerrard. The Argentine keeper made a number of top saves to deny Klopp’s men, including a couple of brilliant quick reaction ones. Had no chance with Salah’s penalty which was well struck and went in off the post.

John McGinn

Another player who has returned to form since Gerrard took the helm at Villa Park; John McGinn produced an energetic performance. The Scotsman was brilliant in the first half and wouldn’t give Henderson or Fabinho a minute’s peace. Didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.

Villains

Stuart Attwell and VAR

As Gerrard pointed out in his post-match press conference, Villa probably should have been awarded a penalty themselves. After Joel Matip and Alisson got in a tangle, Danny Ings then got to the ball ahead of Alisson who appeared to clip the Villa forward as he tried to get to the ball. Liverpool eventually managed to clear the danger, but referee Stuart Attwell didn’t give a penalty and VAR didn’t intervene either.

Tyrone Mings

It’s difficult to lay the blame at Mings’ door for the defeat, but Salah just managed to get the better of him as he clipped the Egyptian’s leg in the penalty area. As Gerrard pointed out, there is a case to be made that Salah made contact with Mings first, but once the Liverpool forward got beyond the England centre-half, you knew Mings would be in trouble if he attempted to make a recovery challenge.

Player ratings

Aston Villa: Martinez 8, Cash 6, Mings 6, Konsa 7, Targett 7, McGinn 8, Nakamba 7, Luiz 6, Ramsey 6, Young 7, Watkins 5

Liverpool: Alisson 6, Alexander-Arnold 7, Van Dijk 8, Matip 7, Robertson 8, Henderson 6, Fabinho 7, Thaigo 6, Salah 8, Oxlade-Chamberlain 5, Mane 6

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