Aston Villa 3 Liverpool 3 - Report
Talk about your Hollywood endings.
With Tom Hanks watching from the stands, Villa came back from the dead to draw with Liverpool and inch another step closer to the Champions League.
Substitute Jhon Duran scored in the 85th and 88th minutes as Unai Emery’s team snatched a point which means Tottenham must beat Manchester City tomorrow to keep the top-four race alive.
Villa had looked beaten after an error-strewn, albeit luckless performance to that point had them trailing 3-1.
But Duran brought them back into it when he hammered a shot into the bottom corner and them profited from huge fortune as Moussa Diaby’s attempted pass struck his knee and looped in.
It completely flipped a script which had begun with Emi Martinez serving up the biggest blunder of the campaign to gift the visitors a second minute lead.
Diego Carlos also delivered the biggest miss of the campaign. That was just the first 35 minutes.
In between Youri Tielemans levelled things up but Cody Gakpo put the Reds back in front. Jarell Quansah’s header early in the second half extended the advantage and when Ollie Watkins saw a goal ruled out for offside Villa looked sunk before Duran provided the final, dramatic twist.
Hanks, making just his second visit to Villa Park, celebrated with 40,000 others. The actor had actually left before the end of his first visit, last season's 4-2 defeat to Arsenal, missing the visiting team's stoppage time goals. He will be glad this time he stuck around.
The return of Tielemans in midfield was a positive for Villa. So too was the presence of Nicolo Zaniolo on the bench.
But there was once more no Alex Moreno and also no Matty Cash, the right-back absent due to a calf injury sustained in the Europa Conference League exit to Olympiacos.
Not for the first time at Villa Park this season, this had the feel of a big night, the players emerging to a sea of 40,000 waving flags, the latter having been left in the seats of home supporters prior to their arrival.
Yet the atmosphere was punctured after barely 60 seconds. Salah advanced down the right slipped in Harvey Elliott and his cross took a nick off Pau Torres. It was enough to wrong foot Martinez but even then what happened next was inexplicable as, having failed to gather at the first attempt, the keeper pushed the ball over the line in his attempt to recover it.
Villa looked stunned and Liverpool almost had a second when Mo Salah cut inside and saw his shot again nick off Torres, this time drifting just wide.
Emery’s men needed a lift and almost got it with their first attack, Bailey miskicking as he attempted to convert Diaby’s cross.
Instead, an equaliser came with the second attack. Watkins did superbly to get around Quansah and pull back for an unmarked Tielemans to drive home from just inside the box.
The home crowd was alive again and it was Villa now asking the questions. Quansah did well to block a Watkins effort after Bailey had played the striker in on the right of the box. Trent Alexander-Arnold then did the same to a Bailey shot.
Having overcome the early setback, the ease with which Liverpool retook the lead will have hugely frustrated Emery.
Douglas Luiz lost possession at a Villa free-kick, Salah picked out the run of Luiz Diaz and he found Joe Gomez, whose low cross just evaded Martinez and was tapped home by Gakpo. The goal stood after a three-minute VAR check determined Gomez had remained just onside.
Again, Villa responded well and they should have been level when Bailey crossed but Carlos somehow put it wide from a yard out, centre of the goal, with Watkins waiting behind him for a tap-in.
Further agony was to follow. McGinn played in Diaby and the record signing skied his effort over the bar with just Alisson to beat.
There definitely felt more goals in it for Villa. The trouble is the same applied to Liverpool and within three minutes of the second half beginning Jurgen Klopp’s men had a two-goal lead.
Quansah got around the back of Digne to head home Elliott’s free-kick.
Within five minutes Villa thought they were back in it when Bailey raced on to a through ball and squared for Watkins to turn home. Yet once again, the VAR margins went against Emery’s team with Bailey ruled to be fractions offside.
For all that Villa could not seem to catch a break, neither were they helping themselves. After winning the ball in the visiting box, Watkins attempted a backhell finish rather than passing to Luiz who would have had a simple finish.
Finally, Villa got a bit of fortune when Elliott put the ball in the net and the original offside decision was confirmed by inches.
The hosts kept pushing. Diaby shot into the side netting while Zaniolo, on as a substitute, drew a smart reaction save from Alisson though in truth, he probably should not have given the keeper the chance.
Martinez made his first save of the match when he denied substitute Dominik Szoboszlai and then made a better one to keep out Alexander-Arnold’s piledriver.
They took on extra significance when Duran thumped home with five minutes remaining.
Three minutes later, the luck which had deserted Villa was returned in spades. Diaby’s attempted through ball was hit way too hard but hit Duran’s knee and looped over Alisson.
Villa came closest to winning it but Alisson brilliantly kept out Diaby’s drive in stoppage time.
Teams
Villa (4-4-2): Martinez, Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne, Bailey, Tielemans (Zaniolo 64 (Duran 69)), Luiz (Chambers 80), McGinn, Diaby, Watkins Subs not used: Lenglet, Kesler-Hayden, Iroegbunam, Munroe, Kellyman, Olsen (gk).
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Gomez, Endo (Jones 75), Elliott (Szoboszlai 75), Mac Allister, Salah, Gakpo (Gravenberch 75), Diaz (Nunez 75) Subs not used: Konate, Tsimikas, Bajcetic, Bradley, Kelleher (gk).
