midfielder Jack Grealish (C) scores their seventh goal past
Liverpool’s Spanish goalkeeper Adrian during the English Premier
League football match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Villa
Park in Birmingham, central England on October 4, 2020. (Photo by
Catherine Ivill / POOL / AFP) /
Liverpool’s 100 percent start to the Premier League
season came to an end in stunning fashion as Ollie Watkins’s
first-half hat-trick helped Aston Villa thrash the English
champions 7-2 on Sunday.
Deflected efforts from John McGinn, Ross Barkley and Jack
Grealish compounded a night to forget for Jurgen Klopp’s men before
Grealish completed the scoring.
It is the first time Liverpool have conceded seven goals in a
game since 1963.
The Reds were not beaten until their 28th league game in romping
to the title last season.
But a fine start to their title defence came undone without
injured goalkeeper Alisson Becker and with Thiago Alcantara and
Sadio Mane unavailable due to coronavirus infections.
Alisson’s absence made a telling impact after just four minutes
to get Villa in front as Adrian’s poor pass was seized upon by
Grealish, who squared for the former W atkins to score his first
Premier League goal.
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Mane was also missed at the other end as Liverpool laid seige to
the Villa goal, but were too easily opened up on the
counter-attack.
Barkley twice should have opened his Villa account in the
first-half as he skewed shots wide from close range either side of
Watkins’s second.
Grealish was again the creator with a long ball down the side of
the Liverpool defence and the former Brentford striker cut inside
before blasting into the top corner.
Mohamed Salah seemed to have got the visitors a foothold back in
the match when he slammed home on his trusty left-foot after Mane’s
understudy, Diogo Jota, tried to burrow a way into the penalty
area.
But Villa quickly restored their two-goal cushion when John
McGinn’s effort from the edge of the area deflected in off Virgil
van Dijk.
Liverpool’s high line was being caught out even from set plays
as six minutes before the break Trezeguet broke the offside trap to
cross for Watkins to become the first player in a decade to score a
hat-trick against Liverpool.
Fortune favoured Villa’s desire not to just sit on their lead
after the break as Barkley’s long-range effort looped over the
helpless Adrian to make it 5-1.
Salah remained razor sharp in front of goal to move within one
away from 100 for Liverpool with a brilliant finish from Roberto
Firmino’s pass.
Having seen enough from Joe Gomez, Klopp moved midfielder
Firmino into his back four early in the second-half, but it did
nothing to stem the flow of Villa attacks cutting through his
defence.
Grealish completed a hat-trick of deflected goals when his shot
hit Fabinho to wrong-foot Adrian again.
Watkins missed two huge chances to score his fourth as Adrian
saved a one-on-one before he hit the crossbar.
Grealish, though, was more clinical when he raced through to
round off a remarkable victory.
Villa stayed up by a single point on the final day of last
season, but they have now won their opening three games of the new
league campaign to move up to second.
AFP
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