An own goal by Brazilian Lucas, Curtis Davies’ header and Ashley Young’s penalty helped Aston Villa to a surprise 3-1 win over Liverpool, who pulled one back through Fernando Torres, at Anfield on Monday.
Midfielder Lucas glanced Young’s free kick into his own net 11 minutes before the interval and Davies made it two in added time.
Torres halved the deficit with 18 minutes left, but after Steven Gerrard tripped Nigel Reo-Coker, Young made it three from the spot to make it two defeats from their opening three matches for the Reds.
PHOTO: REUTERS
With the season a week old, Liverpool have already lost as many matches as they did in the whole of the previous campaign.
It was also the first time since December 2007, when they were defeated 1-0 by Manchester United, that Liverpool were defeated in the Premier League at Anfield as Rafael Benitez’s side’s frustrations at home, where they drew seven matches last season, surfaced once again.
Liverpool piled forward from the start and Yossi Benayoun glanced a header wide from Torres’ lob into the area with just 34 seconds gone.
But Villa should have taken the lead when Nicky Shorey’s whipped cross was headed straight at Pepe Reina by the unmarked Davies. In the ninth minute, it was Liverpool’s turn to fail to take a string of chances as Torres and Benayoun scuffed shots before Steven Gerrard’s effort was turned over by Brad Friedel.
The Reds continued to dominate and after patient possession around the edge of the area, Benayoun fed Gerrard, whose curling shot flew narrowly high and wide of Friedel’s goal.
But 11 minutes before the interval, Villa took a shock lead with a free kick 30m from goal.
Young curled an apparently innocuous effort toward the goal, but it glanced off the head of Lucas and into the Liverpool net.
The Reds looked for an immediate response as Glen Johnson broke into the box and laid off for Torres, whose shot on the turn was pushed away by Friedel. But Villa looked even more dangerous on the break and after a quick counter-attack, Nigel Reo Coker’s low strike flew just wide of Reina’s post.
Liverpool’s frustrations were summed up when Javier Mascherano’s harmless shot from 30m was held by Friedel.
As Villa continued to take every chance to get forward, Steve Sidwell’s cross was met by Shorey’s header, only for Reina to save.
Sidwell had a shot deflected wide off Skrtel and in first-half added time, Shorey’s corner was headed in by Davies at the near post.
Benitez’s side were full of fire after the restart and Johnson’s impressive footwork set up Gerrard, whose drive was pushed away by Friedel. The American goalkeeper did well again to block from a Mascherano block-buster as the Anfield side looked for a foothold in the game.
Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt then passed up a series of chances as Liverpool continued to pile forward. He saw a header from Gerrard’s corner pushed over by Friedel and then hit the post with another header after Villa failed to clear.
The Reds thought they had got back in the game with 18 minutes left when Torres guided Emiliano Insua’s cross in off the bar. Just a couple of minutes later, Villa restored their lead from the penalty spot.
As Reo-Coker burst into the area, he was tripped by Gerrard’s despairing lunge and Young sent Reina the wrong way with a powerful set-piece to put Villa back in control. Torres and Johnson both went close but Liverpool slipped to a miserable defeat.
Villa, who for much of last season looked capable of a top-four finish before running out of steam, were booed off after losing to Wigan Athletic at home last week, but manager Martin O’Neill was delighted with their response.
“We put a big effort into the match, we defended very strongly and we broke. We are capable of scoring goals and we did that,” he said. “I was staggered about what was going on [being booed]. For us to get the abuse we got at halftime against Wigan, I don’t think it was warranted.”
Rangers on Wednesday bowed out of the UEFA Champions League playoffs with a humiliating 6-0 defeat at the hands of Club Brugge which piles further pressure on head coach Russell Martin, while SL Benfica secured a place in the competition proper at the expense of Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce. The Glasgow giants traveled to Belgium right up against it after losing 3-1 at home in last week’s first leg, when they conceded three times in the opening 20 minutes. They never looked like turning the tie around as Club Brugge took the lead inside five minutes at the Jan Breydelstadion through Nicolo Tresoldi
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
Noah Lyles on Thursday warmed up for the upcoming athletics world championships by chasing down Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo to win the 200m at the Diamond League final. Lyles trailed Tebogo at the start, but gradually erased the deficit over the final 100m and pipped the Botswana sprinter to the line by centimeters. Lyles, the Olympic 100m champion and reigning world champion in both the 100m and 200m, clocked 19.74 seconds in a slight headwind. Tebogo was 0.02 seconds behind. It was Lyles’ sixth Diamond League title, a record for track athletes. “Six, that’s a big number,” Lyles said. “Shoot, that’s another record on
Brentford striker Yoane Wissa says he wants to leave the English Premier League club and that it is “unduly standing in my way.” A day before the end of soccer’s summer transfer period, Wissa posted a lengthy statement on social media yesterday criticizing Brentford for rejecting an apparent offer from another Premier League club despite his willingness to switch between the teams. Wissa, a reported target for Newcastle, is yet to play for Brentford this season and had already removed any association with the club from his Instagram account. Yesterday, the 28-year-old DR Congo international took it a step further on the social
RSS