Liverpool have ended their four-game losing streak in the Premier League and it was lost on nobody that they did so with most of their new signings absent.
A return to old methods – in more ways than one – was the theme of the evening for Liverpool, although to beat Aston Villa, they required a flash of good luck.
The game’s most important incident was an Emiliano Martinez howler that gifted Mohamed Salah his 250th Liverpool goal; an unforgettable milestone for one player, a moment to forget for the other.
Until then Villa had been at least Liverpool’s equal: they became the first Premier League visitors since Crystal Palace in September 2021 to hit the woodwork at least twice in a first half at Anfield. Then Matty Cash almost sneaked in a fierce deflected shot that Giorgi Mamardashvili did well to parry away.
But Villa could not recover from the emotional toll of conceding that Salah goal right on the stroke of half-time, nor could they cope with the confidence it restored in Liverpool.
Slot return to old formula ends losing streak
Jeremie Frimpong and Alexander Isak missed the game through injury but the absences of Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz (the latter made a cameo appearance for the final 20 minutes) were Slot’s decisions.
The only new signing who started outfield was Hugo Ekitike, not coincidentally the only member of a group reportedly signed for a total £400million who has hit the ground running in the Premier League.
The message was clear: Slot decided to reply upon old tried-and-tested methods to end his team's spell of poor form.
Liverpool were considerably more cohesive as a result, most noticeably in how they pressed together; their hard pressing from the front was a frequent discomfort for Villa, leading to the crucial opener (more on that below).
The aggression throughout midfield – conspicuously missing when Wirtz, still adapting to Premier League life, is in the starting XI – was telling.
The team selection also helped Liverpool to keep their first clean sheet in 11 games in all competitions, thanks partly to Conor Bradley and Andrew Robertson starting in the full-back positions.
Bradley and Robertson both made interesting infield runs, underlapping to create extra attacking space for Cody Gakpo and Salah. It wasn’t particularly significant to the result, although the fact Slot was trying something different – and something neither Frimpong nor Kirkez have experience doing – spoke volumes.
“We had good runs in behind, opportunities to score goals, and the defending as a team was good,” as Virgil van Dijk put it. “That made a difference."
Villa’s risk-and-reward football backfires - just
Unai Emery’s diligent preparatory work would have included analysis of the goals Liverpool concede, which so often have been from long passes into the channels and losing the second balls. And yet he reached a radically different conclusion to so many of Liverpool’s previous opponents.
Villa took passing out from the back to the extreme, deliberately baiting the Liverpool press with high-risk possession in their own penalty area.
There was method to the madness. Villa’s best “counter-attacking” moments – the kind that have hurt Liverpool so much in recent weeks - are always artificially created under Emery, in that they lure the opponent forward, spin behind, and gallop into the space via Morgan Rogers.
That’s exactly what they did at Anfield and it very nearly worked. In this fifth-minute example, Villa evaded Liverpool’s press to release Rogers into huge amounts of space. Within seconds, the Villa No 10 struck the post.
That was the reward, and it so nearly came on numerous occasions, but the risk of course was a high turnover that would leave Villa exposed. In the 23rd minute Liverpool won the ball high, and Dominik Szoboszlai went through on goal and should have scored.
Credit to Slot for barking at Van Dijk to man-mark Rogers in these situations, which (mostly) did the trick.
Villa continued to play bravely, but the risk proved too much. Martinez’s sloppy pass – forced by the press - was intercepted by Salah, whose goal on the stroke of half-time sapped Villa’s confidence, calmed the Anfield crowd, and proved decisive.
Many will blame Emery for deciding to play like that, but Liverpool’s second goal was evidence of why the strategy made sense.
When Villa did go long it stretched them so much lengthways that, when Van Dijk headed the ball forward in this example, there was space for Gakpo to pass and Ryan Gravenberch to stride through the middle and score:
Liverpool can get back into title race with slower introduction of new players
The lesson to draw from the victory is perhaps that changing too much, too fast may be at least partly to blame for Liverpool’s dip in form.
Slot’s side are third in the Premier League table and only seven points behind leaders Arsenal with 28 games left to play, so there is more than enough time to gradually find new rhythms should the Liverpool manager choose to stay with the 2024/25 core for now.
And doing so would presumably help the team click from kick-off, helping them to get the crucial first goal as they did against Villa. Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 106 Premier League games at Anfield in which they’ve opened the scoring (W96 D10). A strong start is vital.
If they can race out of the blocks at the Etihad Stadium next weekend, they can beat Manchester City and relaunch their title bid.
As for Villa, there was nothing too much to worry about given their competent display at one of the most challenging stadiums in the country. But if Emery is looking for areas to improve, he will have noted their lack of creativity when in dangerous situations at Anfield.
Villa have scored just nine goals in 10 Premier League games this season, the fewest by an Emery-led side after 10 matches of a campaign in one of Europe’s big five leagues.
If Villa are to get back into the UEFA Champions League, those numbers have to improve.