Mohamed Salah has denied Steven Gerrard a happy return to Liverpool by scoring the goal to beat Aston Villa at Anfield this afternoon.
Gerrard coming back to Liverpool as opposition manager was the big subplot of Villa’s visit to Merseyside this afternoon.
But a penalty from Liverpool’s attacker on 67 minutes ensured that Gerrard and Aston Villa go back to the Midlands with nothing but an experience.
The scoreline could and probably should’ve been fatter for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who quite often failed to be clinical when it mattered.
For example, Liverpool had a three-on-one advantage in the final minutes but Salah himself wound up fluffing the counter-attack, trying to tee up Sadio Mane.
Here’s what former Chelsea player Pat Nevin said to BBC Sport about that botched attack.
He said; “I cannot believe that Salah made the wrong decision there. He had all sorts of options, maybe too many. Eventually he got caught on the ball. It’s unusual to say that.”
Good value
It’s impossible to deny that Aston Villa put up a brave fight against Liverpool this afternoon.
Remember, the Merseysiders have been scoring for absolute fun this season, meaning that to lose only by a solitary goal – a penalty! – well there’s certainly no disgrace in that.
On another day, the Villans, who did fashion chances of their own, may have earned a draw but overall, Liverpool were good value for their victory.
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