Liverpool 2, Aston Villa 0: Good Enough to be Boring

By: Ed | December 18th, 2011

Liverpool : Bellamy 11′, Skrtel 15′
Aston Villa 0

Like the reverse fixture last season, Liverpool barely get a fight from Aston Villa, easing to victory over an opposition that makes it hard to tell if they’re that bad or if Liverpool were really that good. After the two early goals it settled into a match that wasn’t exactly the most thrilling, but it was another stalwart defensive effort for Kenny Dalglish’s squad that sees them go level on points with Arsenal in fifth. With the club in the middle of one of the busiest stretches of the campaign, regardless of how exciting it may or may not have been, it’s an important victory.

Dalglish has remained fairly predictable in his selection so far this season, even when there’s guesswork about the personnel that’ll be included. And while today wasn’t a complete departure from his usual picking, it was a bit of a surprise to see Jonjo Shelvey included along with Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam. Shelvey’s operated on the flanks at times, and while his positioning was fluid throughout the match, a start for him meant that the set-up would look slightly different. Craig Bellamy and Stewart Downing took up the flanks with Shelvey more central, and Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson sunk deeper in midfield while resuming the partnership they took up last weekend against QPR.

The slight change saw Liverpool operate a bit more cautiously early, waiting to hit on the counter with Luis Suarez breaking off the last Villa defenders. Possession for the guests led to a quick cut-in and shot on the right from Downing, with the hosts getting a free header for Emile Heskey that was straight at Pepe Reina and ultimately whistled offside.

skrtelgoal Action back at the other end gave Liverpool their first corner of the match, and after their display from set pieces last weekend, you’d have been forgiven for bemoaning anything that didn’t come from open play. But a clever backheeled flick by Jonjo Shelvey from Downing’s corner found its way to Suarez, who tried a backheel of his own from a few yards out. Brad Guzan got down well to save, but the rebound went straight to Craig Bellamy, who made no mistake in firing home for the opener.

And four minutes later they had another corner and another goal, only this time it was more straightforward. Bellamy’s inswinging effort met Martin Skrtel’s forehead perfectly, and the on-form defender guided it past Guzan at the far post. It was almost surreal to see Liverpool convert two consecutive corners after last week’s struggles, and a painfully familiar site to watch a defender lose his man, only to watch him score seconds later. Thankfully this time it was the opposition’s error, as Richard Dunne and Alan Hutton both conspired to leave Skrtel free.

Villa had their best spell of the match after Liverpool’s second but still couldn’t put anything together other than speculative shots from distance, and it was all very comfortable for the visitors. It was almost even more comfortable within a minute of the restart, with Craig Bellamy’s streaking run and left-footed cross finding Daniel Agger free at the far post. The resulting header was nowhere near goal, but it was the start of a second half that would see Liverpool continue their profligacy in front of goal.

Minutes later it was Luis Suarez missing a chance after winning back possession from Richard Dunne. The Uruguayan turned and twisted to free himself and blasted on goal from within ten yards, only to see his shot crash back off the crossbar. And just outside of ten minutes it was the same story, only more impressive—his chip over Guzan seemed destined for the side netting, but as it soared over the keeper it drifted to the far post, and ended up ricocheting off and bouncing back across the face of goal. Frustrating but brilliant, and one of the last moments of the match worth talking about.

*

It wasn’t a day that saw flashy performances from any of the principals; Luis Suarez hitting the post twice with creative and audacious efforts was about as sexy as this one got. The not taking chances narrative is furthered, and there was a bit of blasé about the match that didn’t demand much interest. And yet it’s a deserved, comfortable win, and it’s three points more for Liverpool to stay on the fringes of a crowded top four.

suarezdunne Those who impressed most on the day did so by doing exactly what was expected of them—the back four harried and hassled Villa every time they worked their way forward, with Glen Johnson emerging as one of the best on the day. Skrtel got his goal and we got a taste of Daniel Agger supplementing attack, and Jose Enrique seemed far more stable than he’d been over the past few weeks.

Up front it was more of the same from Craig Bellamy and Luis Suarez, with the former getting his goal and working tirelessly for the team, and the latter showing glimpses of sheer genius to go along with the frustrating inconsistencies he’s been prone to after his purple patch to start the season ended. It’s not a matter of “if” with him, though, and when he finds the final product he’s going to be a nightmare. It’s cliché as hell, but he’s the only one that can truly stop him right now.

The start for Jonjo Shelvey proved justified, as he was confident and composed from an advanced position in central midfield. Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson took a step back after their impressive combination last weekend, with Adam reverting to some of his early season habits both in possession and in the tackle. Stewart Downing was decent if a little subdued, fading as the match wore on in front of a home crowd that was happy to remind him of their displeasure at his exit.

So while we didn’t get the comprehensive drubbing we’ve all been waiting for, we still got a dominant, comfortable victory on the road, and a key three points in Liverpool’s crowded month. We had almost the exact same thing to say last weekend—despite the frustrations, it’s the three points that matter, and that was never in question today.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: Match Recaps, Miscellaneous, Premier League, Team News

« Matchday: Liverpool v. Aston Villa | Home | A Year on the Liverpool Offside: Roy Hodgson’s January »

NotTooXabi

Telling that Kenny took the Jonjo plunge away from Anfield, our away form has been seemingly so much better than home. In consideration of the hectic schedule, it was a great call putting the 19 year-old Lex Luther in the mix. Suffice it to say, he will be in the Holiday Fixture Rotation.

The Villa performance was both workmanlike yet a bit troublesome. There were long stretches where we seemed, erm, stretched. The team did a wonderful job converging and confining the few times Villa got forward with numbers; but I thought there a few too many times when Adam/Henderson were running back to make up ground and cover the numbers. Yes, this is the Life Without Lucas. But it needs to be rectified.

Curious to see how we line up for Wigan. At some point over the next 16 days (4 matches), Johnson, Skrtel and Agger, especially, will need a break. Kelly, Coates, Carra can do a job, for sure, but where do make that change?

Suarez, if not banned come Tuesday, needs a rest. With Wigan and Blackburn being rather shit, we could, conceivably, give him some time and bring him on the impact sub. Not that have a clue, but I would not bust a Scott Dann testicle if we lined-up like this on Wednesday:

Kelly Carra Coates Enrique
       Hendo Adam
   Kuyt   Jonjo    Maxi
           Carroll

And can someone please, for the love of Fowler, find out the Fabio Auerlio situation. He pops up to get Lucas' Player of the Month award, but I haven't seen him kick a football since Osama, Qaddafi, & Kim Jong-Il were all running amok.
purify_the_body

I think Ed or Noel reported a few days back he has an ankle injury. I'm sure you'll be as shocked as the rest of us.

And isn't 3 full days enough rest to play our best? It's just like being in the CL, if I can remember that many years back.
redtrev73

Good points, the first:

* Jonjo repays Kenny's faith. (Forget all the Maxi and Dirky talk, for a second...Kenny made a gutsy decision to play a kid AGAIN and it worked AGAIN)

Good points, the second:

* Another clean sheet on the back of a settled and imperious back 4 led by Sk-Agger.

Good points, the third:

* 3 points, hauled in the Arse, passed the barcodes.

Meh, the first:

* Chaz slid back a little in form but if his shot had gone in when he ignored the Jonjo in space, would we be so pissed?

Meh, the second:

* Only two goals and two more woodwork encounters.

Meh, the third:

* Will Andy EVER make an impressive sub cameo?!
Gally

Good post, the usual......see what I did there?
Suarez from the car park...

Hard to say anything too definitive about us with such an insipid opposition. We were organised as a unit that's for sure. Suarez was clearly taken off with Wednesday in mind.

Not enough goals yet, which is poor against this opposition, but march on we must. Wigan will be more gutsy and inventive and we must be sure to up our response and not let them in.

The midfield will face a sterner test and will have to rise to meet it. Fortunately it suits us to setup as a unit, defend and counter (better away form than home).

This is such an important run for bagging the easier points, and so far we're on 6 points from 9. With Wigan, Blackburn and Newcastle ahead, we must look for a 100%, 15 points from a possible 18.
That could be enough to wrestle a place from either Arsenal or Chelski and give us a platform for the new year, which has a pretty severe start and a bitch of a February.

Lucas is going to be a huge miss against Citeh. He's without doubt the toughest competitor they've met this season in the middle of the park.
jpr

Best that can be said about today is 3 points, a clean sheet without a defensive midfielder, and 2 goals from corners against a team that concedes from corners. Our back line and Pepe are impressive. Charlie was always going to struggle defensively with three other mids who are not particularly good tacklers. We really need Stevie back in the team; that commanding presence in mid is severely missed. Bellers delivery on Skrtels goal was superb, a piece of class to unlock that defense. KK was smart today to have Stewie and Bellers take the corners. Their deliveries are much better than our $20 mil set pieces. Lucas will be a huge miss for us, but nothing can be done to get him back, so we'll just have to deal with it.

Luis should have had those 2 goals today. Would have done him and us a world of good. Hoping the news Tuesday is good. We don't need him out with Stevie, Lucas and wee Jay missing.

3 points off 4th spot considering the personnel issues we've dealt with (injuries, suspensions, 6 new guys) is not too Xabi, really. We need to compete over these next 3 matches and get Stevie back and pick up some quality in January. 3 City games in January and our Jan/Feb schedule will challenge us. We'll see what we're made of. Come on you REDS.
Suarez from the car park...

good post as ever jpr, and yes, that yellow might have curtailed Adam's game somewhat.
purify_the_body

The thing is, Adam last week was much, much better. He was disciplined and his work rate was much improved over the beginning of the season. Today was a step back (and hopefully next game he steps back up).
jpr

He was certainly better last week. Though QPR vs Villa and Jonjo vs Maxi may have affected that dynamic a bit. He was a bit lazy at times, but we didn't need him to get a second yellow. It was Villa's only way back into the game.
Stevie-G-LFC

Wrong to criticise Adam for that game,very wrong people.When he played next to Lucas,they were starting to create a great midfield duo.Then Lucas goes injured and Adam has more responsibility in midfield.Adam will shine if he plays next to a clear defensive midfielder like Lucas,Mascherano...etc.He isnt good at defending but he is very good at attacking.For the person who called him fat,as Charlie said,he was 3rd of the whole squad in the physical tests made by the physical team at August so you are talking utter bulls**t.Then Adam,Henderson and Shelvey are all more of attacking midfielders than defensive ones,so it was hard for him to defend.It's been a blow for us that Spearing's been suspended and then next game against Wigan is his last game for his suspension.A midfield trio of Spearing-Adam-Henderson would do the job for me.Hendo is my favorite player and i might be the 1st to say that but he is underrated by some fans.Not for his price tag but what he offers on the pitch.People criticise easily and want a player to go on and shoot from 40 yards and score.That's wrong.Henderson's positioning is very good on the pitch,he's learning and getting better and better every single game and we all know right now that he's not a right winger too but a center midfielder.His positioning and passing skills are very good.He has a lot to learn but with Gerrard getting back and Kenny and the whole squad too helping him,i am 100% sure that he will become world class someday.Same goes for Downing who doesnt have a single assist or goal for us yet,that's a fact.But he's hit 4 or 5 times to woodwork and has been playing very good on either left or right flank(i prefer him on the right).People should start shutting their mouth cauz this team is moving the right way right now.Reina's a world class keeper,our back 4 are playing GREATLY so far,our midfield is very good,what we lack is sharpness in attack.Suarez and Bellamy are what i like about some footballers.Passion,skills,pace,composure..and many other things that many strikers dream of.But we need a clinical finisher upfront to finish off teams when we create chances.Carroll was brought for that reason but he's still young and has a lot to learn.I still have faith in him but we need some short term solutions too.Can we go on January and buy a striker like Roberto Soldado?I'd love that.He and Jose Enrique deserve to play for Spain too since David Villa is injured and Torres is s**t.I would like to see this:
Reina
Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique
Gerrard Henderson Adam
Bellamy Soldado Suarez
Bench:Doni Kelly Coates Spearing Downing Maxi Kuyt Carroll
In King Kenny We Trust
YNWA
Latortillablanca

whoaaaa, buddy, space bar. please. and paragraph breaks.

i appreciate the optimisim, though, def. i don't think it's unfair to say that hendo and adam as a partnership took a step back, even if they are still doing an admirable job of filling in while both our CDMs are out - which they are.

you outline the reasons for it above, and i don't expect them to be much better against wigan, but i do expect it to be enough. And then we get the wee iron back, so we'll be fine.
purify_the_body

http://www.feintzebra.co.uk/wp...
jpr

That pretty much sums it up. Is this our new DM? Made me laugh so hard my eyes are falling out of my head.
justin

Another shut out with the Skrtel & Agger partnership. Just lovin' it!
DJ-Chutfield

Four (that's right, FOUR!) clean sheets in a row!
Suarez from the car park...

eh? what about fulham?
DJ-Chutfield

Right, that 1-0 win was for Fulham... read the fixture list wrong. Ignore me.
Ed

We don't talk about that.
Geoff Twentyman

It was great to wake up to 3 points! The race for 4th is still open. It's interesting how the league is split between a top 7 and a bottom 12 with Stoke somewhere in between!

Its a shame Sunderland could do better against Spurs though :(
Geoff Twentyman

In other news, Shelvey's time at Blackpool has earnt him the young player of the month award:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/h...
DJ-Chutfield

Disorganized defending especially on set pieces, one lumbering seemingly disinterested striker up front, never ever really looking like scoring, capitulating at home to early goals without any hint of fightback... Villa had "Hodgson's Liverpool" practically tattoo'd on their foreheads. Good, if unspectacular, win for us. I'll take one of those for every single match of the upcoming stretch before the New Year.
Latortillablanca

Villa's a perfect example of an owner thinking he knows better than the fans, gaffing on the coaching hire, and setting the squad back 6 months-a year. Mcleish is a decent coach in the right situation, but i think it's fair to say villa was the epitome of the wrong situation for him: fans hated him, expectations were high, plenty of money available for him to spend on the wrong players, complete opposite in terms of football ideology, primary colors are red(ish), not blue. what was the ol' scot drinking when he took that job? oh, right... scottish...
Mugzies

is it okay if i say how much i disliked watching Shelvey lumbering around center field all match?
Latortillablanca

not only is it ok, it's encouraged to opine on this here site. no matter how wrong that particular opinion may be... as it is in this case... ;)
McrRed

A heads up for some of you who like me couldn't see the match today...I don't want to post any spoilers but if you follow the forum -> download games link on the wisiwyg site they've got the two halves of the game posted up (already!!!) ;-0
ReadLiverpoolFC

I was happy to see a move to a 4231, despite Adam's struggles. I thought Shelvey, Johnson, Bellamy and Downing all benefited from the shift.
Geoff Twentyman

With our current personnel, I like the balance we get from 4-2-3-1

I like Stevie behind the CF in this formation. I think Hendo can do a good job there and it looks like Shelvey is able to pull strings there too.

I like quick recycling of the ball in the Holding Midfield position's - Lucas does it well, Hendo too (as well as being a bit more attack minded) and Spearo as well. Adam can do it as he's proved in the last few games, but sounds like he still has some of his old bad habits that resurface - remember like all of the new transfers in, he's a WIP!

With a couple of clever transfers in January or the summer, we could have a squad capable of morphing from 4231 to 433 to 4222 with relative ease.
Latortillablanca

i agree. i also think its a system that suits carroll as a target man. i understand the benefits of having suarez's medusa-like qualities leading the line for certain games (perhaps it was best against villa's lumbering blokes Dunne and Collins), but in the first half against fulham, that 433 with suarez on the left and carroll in the middle flashed some really good things.

in the 451, you could easily slot suarez in the 'gerrard' role or on the left. its such a maleable formation, he could pop up everywhere and andy would prolly be comfortable leading a line solo, knocking down reina's 80 yarders and just playing that middle ground up and down.

im sure there's something i'm missing here, but as soon as this suarez ban gets handed down, i think we'll see it and it just may jump start carroll's career as a red...
purify_the_body

Hope springs eternal, eh?
purify_the_body

An insipid 0-0 dressed up as a comfortable win. Glad to get the three points, of course.

Adam was just awful today. We saw all his negatives: the clumsy tackling, the lazy positioning, the Hollywood passing, giving the ball away, at times just watching players waltz right past him. After 20 minutes he looked like a Sunday league player nursing a hangover and easily could have had 2 yellows. Just dreadful. And his selfishness in attack, refusing to play Jonjo through, had me swearing. Pass, you fat bastard!!

But Buddha be praised, we have Bellamy. He was excellent today and once again put the team on his back, providing most of the energy and drive. What a player. If only he could have played for Liverpool his whole career. Just wonderful.

And of course, there's Downing. Today I started to turn against him. What does he need, a formal invitation to turn or beat a defender? He just looks like a butter knife at a steak dinner.

So three points, job done, etc. We still look a million miles from 4th.
Latortillablanca

without a cdm beside him, the added defensive responsibility is just not his game. takes him out of his comfort zone, so, its not gonna get any better until he develops some chemistry with spearo or tbd january purchase.

that said hendo wasn't half bad positionally - not that villa aimed to exploit that area of the pitch at all...
purify_the_body

I think any player can hustle, pay attention, and prepare for the game. He looked like he ate two Christmas turkeys and drank 4 kegs of ale the night before, lol!
Thomas Hoppe

I felt the same way about Adam today. He frustrates me a lot. He has improved a fair amount as the season has gone on but I don't think he has deserved as much time on the pitch as Dalglish has given him. It also seems clear that Jordan Henderson should have been given a chance to partner Lucas
Latortillablanca

disagree. our offense has been a chance creation machine, and a fair amount of that has been thanks to adam's play. although henderson is definitely going from strength to strength in those central positions...
Thomas Hoppe

I wish I had a counter for Adam's chance creation, which has been impressive/surprising
Suarez from the car park...

MOTD reckon that was Jordan's best game for pool. Wasn't the stiffest opposition you'd have to say. Villa were anaemic.
Waiting for Sterling

Ahhh, I think we saw Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde and Sr. Adam; all 3 packed in one. He, at at times, looks to have the potential to be one of the best overall CM's in the league (to me, I'm not overstating.) On his good side, he knows how to tackle, pass, shoot and go on some crazy never imagined runs. On his bad side, like you said, he's selfish, plays hollywood and just plain old blows on defense.

With all this said, I think I'm still on Charlie's side. Especially when Lucas is next to him.

For the Bellamy situation, I think if he could turn back the years I would buy his jersey, fly over to the UK, get it signed and hang it on my wall, but he can't. I'm glad he's providing for us in a huge way, but Suarez (who was my MOTM, should've had at least 1 goal, if not a hat-trick) needs someone else to carry us when he has days like today when he's on top of his game, but the ball is just not going in.
Suarez from the car park...

Suarez was superb today but I didn't think he was his usual self at all. We've got to have some more quality around him.

Boy do I want to see Gerrard in there. In full training this week, yip yip yipee!
Latortillablanca

im starting to think suarez doesn't fancy leading the line. if u think about it, he never did it in holland, has never done it for uruguay, and before he came to liverpool, barca were sniffing around to throw him in their rotation of false 9's.

the antithesis of what he's played his whole career is what we're asking him to do on these cold away fixtures in the most physically brutal league in the world.

can he do it? sure. is it making him a better player? arguable. Do we need him to do it? i guess, but we do have kuyt and carroll, both of whom are more suited to that role physically...

i guess at the end of the day, i'm just concerned with how much we're asking him to do for us creatively, emotionally and physically... look how well that worked for torres in the long run...
Redarmy

good point.
Perhaps starting Carroll in some of those games and bringing on Suarez after 60-65min? Andy is not effective as a substitute, bt Luis on fresh legs may well run riot on some of those tiring defenders, like the Arsenal game...
Latortillablanca

def.
KC

I could see Suarez straining on some of his runs and it took him time to get into the game probably because of the counter-attacking play but I think that comes down to missing training sessions because of the situations that I don't want to name cause I'm so sick of it already
purify_the_body

I thought Adam was pretty good last week.
Scotty

We scored one goal from 127 corners in the previous 15 matches so today was a blessed relief.

We'll have to up our game against Wigan. They played very well in parts against Chelsea. Villa looked like a zombie team at times.

Thought Shelvey did well for his first game. Was a nice flick for the first goal from the corner (v. similar to Gareth Bale for Spurs against Bolton 2 weeks ago). Also had Adam and Suarez been more aware he took a couple of great advance positions in the 2nd half that might have been threatening.
Suarez from the car park...

That's some stat!

Good game for JonJo to get under his belt. Will do his confidence the world of good with little chance of being punished by an insipid Villa.
fastrail

Can't quite see the match as the stream I was watching was lagging horribly...did Jonjo impressed much?I knew about the corner but overall performance?
Ryan

I thought it was obvious he's been out of the squad for a while, and looked a little shaky with the communication side of things, but he made up for it. I don't know what he did to justify a start, but what he did do is prove is capable of playing very well in the side.

Nothing spectacular, but for a first game back, quite impressive. Not like Aston Villa did much about it, though. I'd rather watch Stoke City, at least there's some action.
Suarez from the car park...

don't ever say you would rather watch Stoke play. that's a crime.
Ryan

I would rather watch Peter Crouch the gingerbread man and Ryan Shawcross tear some ligaments then watch Emile fucking Heskey try to be the spearhead of an attack.
Suarez from the car park...

fair point....

Has Pulis taken over SAF's territory of having the ref as 12th man?
Ryan

well, if we have 15 corners: We'll have 15 goals. Good stuff today. And ya, Aston Villa really suck. And I really, really, really, don't like them at all. Never have.
ShedYourYellow

The words Suarez and sexy in the same sentence. You're trying to kill me, you really are. Didn't get to see the first half of this match, but three points will never be something I complain about, be it Villa's woes or our brilliance that lands us with it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch my NFL team go 0-14.
Suarez from the car park...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Sexy Suarez!
Tony

Surprise!!!!
ShedYourYellow

WE'RE THIRTEEN AND ONE!
Ryan

I was born and raised in Kansas City, so I must say:

Ha, Ha. Ha.

But I really don't care about American football so whateeehrrrz.
ShedYourYellow

shit, meant 1-13. Knew there was a mistake. I'm a Colts fan, no Packers for me. :P
Ryan

hah that was my fault, I saw the 0-14 but I've been hearing from Packer's fans nonstop so it made me...dyslexic? Or retarded, whichever one.