Source: Daily_Mail
Liverpool 1 Aston Villa 3: Spot on O'Neill ambushes Anfield to increase Rafa Benitez's woes
Invited to give Aston Villa’s fans a wave, Martin O’Neill declined on Monday night. Probably because he knew that, in the eyes of the very people who were joyously calling to him, condemning Liverpool to their first defeat in 32 Barclays Premier League matches at Anfield amounted to little more than the end of a crisis.
Which was madness, of course. Madness even to think that, after losing their opening game of the campaign, it might be time to start thinking about an alternative to a manager they should actually consider themselves fortunate to have.
Just as it was madness to overlook the fact that, for all the difficulties a young, understrength squad endured towards the end of last season, they still finished sixth.
Madness to forget the many fine performances they enjoyed against the better sides in the League before those final few months. And madness to forget how important a role Gareth Barry performed as the club’s captain prior to falling for the advances of big-spending Manchester City.
Judging by this, Villa are coping rather better in the absence of Barry than Liverpool are Xabi Alonso. Where Villa looked so solid and well-organised in midfield, Liverpool seemed to struggle. Not least in the form of the much-maligned Lucas, who crowned a difficult 66 minutes with a calamitous own goal.
It was a performance that more than demonstrated his deficiencies compared to a Spaniard now at Real Madrid.
Not since December 2007, when a certain Carlos Tevez struck for Manchester United, had Liverpool lost here in the League. But they were soundly beaten on this occasion, Villa performing in a manner that perfectly reflected the nature of their manager.
It was defiant as well as determined, not least in the form of Brad Friedel in goal and Stiliyan Petrov, Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell in that midfield battle zone.
Villa’s five-man core proved more than a match for their opponents who, in turn, missed the precision of Alonso’s passing as well as his ability to retain possession and create space. Even at £30million it looks like a poor piece of business for Rafa Benitez.
Liverpool’s manager must now be feeling the pressure. Not in terms of his job. That would be ridiculous.
But in terms of a title that, after last season and the sight of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Manchester for Madrid, Liverpool should have considered themselves capable of winning. They still can win it, of course. It is still August after all. But a second defeat in three games, in the space of nine days, does not look like championship-winning form.
Liverpool beat Villa 5-0 here in March and the manner in which they started suggested it could prove another difficult visit for O’Neill’s men. Yossi Benayoun threatened, as did Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
But Friedel made the first of many fine saves when he guided a close-range effort from Gerrard wide of his right-hand post and he remained an inspiration against his former club for the rest of the night. One stop, in particular, to deny Dirk Kuyt was just sensational.
In Liverpool, however, other problems emerged. Not least certain self-destructive tendencies that proved so costly. Not least when it came to set-pieces.
Lucas was very much the architect of that opening 34th-minute goal. First, he conceded the free-kick for a needless foul on Petrov; then met Ashley Young’s teasing free-kick with a header that wrongfooted Reina and bounced into the corner of the Liverpool net.
Helpless: Lucas (left) can only watch as he deflects Ashley Young's free-kick into his own net
It did force Liverpool to move up another gear, the sudden surge in intensity almost resulting in a rapidly executed equaliser when Torres, still sporting the black eye he suffered against Stoke, seized on a decent ball from Glen Johnson and forced a fine save from Friedel.
But after losing that first game at home to Wigan, Villa seemed revitalised. With their tails now up and Petrov leading from his holding role in midfield, O’Neill’s side were starting to look much more self-assured. Suddenly Steve Sidwell was seen surging down the left wing before sending in a cross that Nicky Shorey met with a decent header.
Quite a transformation for a side who had started so tentatively. It was Shorey who drove in the corner for Villa’s second goal just before the interval: a fine delivery that the towering Curtis Davies met with a header which flew between the outstretched arms of Reina.
Liverpool seemed to think it should not have been a corner — Reina was booked for kicking the ball away in disgust — but television evidence showed that referee Martin Atkinson was right. Sidwell’s shot had taken a deflection off Martin Skrtel.
In the search for a share of the points, Liverpool pressed relentlessly after the break, but Friedel first denied Gerrard and then Kuyt before Torres reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute. A move that started with Andriy Voronin, on for the hapless Lucas, continued with Emiliano Insua before the Spain striker struck from close range.
Less than three minutes later, however, and Liverpool had again pressed the self-destruct button. This time when Gerrard chopped down a fast-advancing Reo-Coker, who had run on to a super ball from Shorey.
Young stepped up to take the penalty.
Game over, and for O’Neill anyway, point made. The least it should do is buy him another week in the job.
