Here are our Liverpool player ratings vs Aston Villa today. The Reds put in a fine away performance to take three points.
Liverpool saw off Aston Villa on Boxing Day with a 3-1 win at Villa Park. It was exactly the kind of display to kick-start the second half of the season.
The Reds found their opener in style, too. Trent Alexander-Arnold produced some magic with the outside of his right boot to get Andy Robertson in behind, who slid the ball across goal for Mohamed Salah to score.
Virgil van Dijk doubled the lead before half-time with a deflected finish from a corner. But that perhaps told a lie about the game. Villa had missed plenty of chances up to that point, after all, and were unfortunate to be down two.
That showed in the second half as Ollie Watkins saw one disallowed for a slight offside before officially finding the net.
Fortunately, Liverpool weren’t done. Darwin Nunez raced in behind to cause some havoc, pulling it back where Stefan Bajcetic, of all people, showed the composure to finish. 3-1, game over.
So with all of that in mind, here are our player ratings for the win.
Liverpool player ratings vs Aston Villa
Alisson Becker – 7
Made a key save in the first half and was solid all game. Your usual Alisson display, in truth.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8
Made some fantastic interventions defensively and his pass for the opener was extraordinary in the moment of the game.
Joel Matip – 7
Van Dijk without the goal – solid enough in a difficult, open game.
Virgil van Dijk – 8
Got the goal and was very solid at the back despite such an open game.
Andy Robertson – 8
Faded in the second half but started on fire. A record-breaking assist for the first, too, as Liverpool made the most of his early sharpness.
Fabinho – 6
Up and down from the Brazilian. Fabinho didn’t quite dominate midfield to his best but was also very isolated.
Jordan Henderson – 7
A classic Henderson performance, really. Liverpool needed him to knit things together, after all, and he was unfortunate not to have more go his way offensively.
Thiago – 6
Had his moments on the ball but wasn’t decisive. Didn’t really secure midfield as well as he usually does, either, but was hardly awful.
Mohamed Salah – 8
A goal, naturally, and nearly scored one of the goals of the season. Another great performance, then, and what you’d expect from the Egyptian.
Darwin Nunez – 7
Really should have caught Erling Haaland in the scoring charts tonight. Still made a massive difference with his efforts for the third. With slightly sharper finishing, he’ll be unstoppable.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5
One incredible run that perhaps should have seen Liverpool score. Other than that, a very quiet performance here.
Subs
Harvey Elliott – N/A
Didn’t really do anything once he was one – and you can say the same about the next two.
Naby Keita – N/A
As above, really.
Joe Gomez – N/A
And again.
Stefan Bajcetic – 8
Got to give him a high score! He gets himself a goal, after all, and showed confidence and aggression out there. The boy will be a star.
Ben Doak – N/A