With a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa on Monday, Liverpool got off to the fast start they needed after the Premier League returned from the World Cup. This reduced the distance between them and the top four teams to five points.
Before halftime, goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah gave the Reds a commanding lead.
However, when Villa’s Ollie Watkins pulled a goal back, Jurgen Klopp’s team had to face some tense moments in the second half before Stefan Bajcetic, a teenager, came off the substitute to secure the three points with his first senior goal.
Throughout the first half of the season, Liverpool had trouble living up to their recent standards, but they looked revitalized to hand Unai Emery his first league loss as manager of Aston Villa.
One of the crucial players for Klopp who was not present in Qatar is Salah, who scored his 15th goal of the year in just five minutes.
After opening up the Villa defense with a through ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Egyptian swept in Andy Robertson’s pass.
Emery’s team was left to regret a number of excellent opportunities to tie the game up right away because Liverpool hasn’t shown any signs of improving their defensive play this year.
Watkins and Leon Bailey both engaged in wasteful finishing. Darwin Nunez, who at the other end of the field caused havoc with his strong sprinting in behind the Villa backline, was even more wasteful.
After Ezri Konsa’s blunder, the Uruguayan missed Robertson’s tempting cross with his head before firing straight at Villa’s backup goalkeeper Robin Olsen.
Van Dijk, a Dutch defender, calmly guided Salah’s pass from a corner goal to ultimately give the visitors a two-goal lead. But in a breathless second half, Villa refused to accept their lot.
Within three minutes of the game’s restart, Watkins had the ball in the net, but he had only just erred by going offside when he shot into the far corner.
Before the home team scored the goal their strong start to the second half deserved, John McGinn also fumbled his lines with just goalkeeper Alisson to beat.
Watkins cut Villa’s deficit in half with a spectacular header back across goal on one of his trickier opportunities.
Klopp had to use two teenagers off the bench, and Ben Doak, 17, made his first Premier League appearance, exposing Liverpool’s relative lack of depth in comparison to their rivals for a spot in the top four.
But after Olsen had once again denied Nunez, 18-year-old Bajcetic displayed a maturity beyond his years with a composed finish.
