Liverpool got a goal from Dominik Szoboszlai in the 3rd minute and never looked back, dominating Aston Villa 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Anfield. The Reds were also gifted an own goal and Mohamed Salah closed the scoring with a strike in the 55th minute.
Darwin Núñez earned a corner in the third minute and Dominik Szoboszlai slammed home Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross for a 1-0 lead. He also had an important clearance in the 10th minute to stop a promising Aston Villa attack.
Liverpool earned another corner in the 16th minute, but the cross was grabbed by the keeper. The Reds scored again in the 20th minute after Núñez hit the post from close range but the ball deflected off a defender for an own goal. Joel Matip nearly scored a third goal from a header in the 27th minute, but the attempt was wide.
Aston Villa had a pair of chances near the half-hour mark, but both were missed. Núñez had a shot block moments later. Núñez hit the post again in the 39th minute and Alexander-Arnold followed by putting a shot wide. Mohamed Salah forced a save deep in first half-time as Liverpool settled for the 2-0 lead.
Second Half
Liverpool got off to a bright start in the second half. Salah missed a shot in the 47th minute and Alisson made his first save late in the match then the counterattack nearly resulted in a Nunez goal, but his toe poke from a tough angle went just wide in the 55th minute after a toch from a defender. Núñez redeemed himself on the resulting corner as he headed the cross to the foot of Salah and the Egyptian King finished for a 3-0 Liverpool lead.
Alisson was called into action again in the 63rd minute, but the save was made comfortably. Salah earned a corner in the 69th minute, but the subsequent shot from Szoboszlai went wide. Liverpool earned back-to-back corners in the 75th but neither chance was converted.
Liverpool earned a final corner in the 88th minute, but Joel Matip was offside on the resulting attempt. Cody Gakpo forced a save in stoppage time to account for the 3-0 final
A Dominating Victory
Unlike a lot of matches over the past two years, this was rather comfortable. Liverpool scored early and cruised the rest of the way. They dominated possession and unleashed 17 shots (4 on goal). Alisson also posted a clean sheet against a club that had been scoring goals nearly at will in this part of the season. It is the first time the Lions have been shut out all season.
It's Early But…
Liverpool did not pick up their first win last year until the fourth match. At the same point this year, the club already has 3 wins and 10 points. The victory versus Villa also runs the club's unbeaten streak to 15 matches.
Steady Salah
Mohamed Salah has either scored or garnered an assist in 10 straight Premier League matches. There was a time last season when Salah was struggling to score. Fortunately for supporters, those struggles seem to be well behind him.
LFC Globe Verdict
That was easier than I thought. Aston Villa have traditionally played Liverpool tough and they are a trendy pick by many pundits to qualify for the Champions League next season. With Villa's goal-scoring form, I thought they would put at least one goal past Alisson, but they didn't. Liverpool are playing well right now. Let's hope their performance level does not drop off after the international break.
Man Of The Match
While there are several candidates, I'm going with Szoboszlai. He put the Reds up early with his first goal in a Liverpool shirt and played a solid match in other aspects as well. Darwin Núñez also put in a proper shift. He had several near misses and an assist on Salah's goal that put the match out of reach for Aston Villa.
What's Next
After the break, Liverpool will travel to Wolverhampton to take on the Wolves on September 16th. Kick off is set for 12:30 BST.
Goals
Liverpool
- Domonik Szoboszlai 3'
- Mohamed Salah 55'
Aston Villa
- Matty Cash 22' (OG)
Substitutions
Liverpool
- Harvey Elliot for Curtis Jones 65'
- Cody Gakpo for Darwin Núñez 65'
- Diogo Jota for Luis Diaz 65'
- Jarell Quansah for Trent Alexander-Arnold 71'
- Wataru Endo for Alexis Mac Allister 87'
Aston Villa
- Leon Bailey for Diego Carlos 19'
- Nicolo Zaniolo for Leon Bailey 65'
- Youri Tielemans for Douglas Luiz 72'
- Jhon Duran for Ollie Watkins 73'