Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa: Five talking points
Trent Alexander-Arnold's stunning stoppage-time finish saw Liverpool come from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1 at Anfield on Saturday.
Alexander-Arnold was the match-winner after Mohamed Salah cancelled out Ollie Watkins' first-half opener in the Premier League contest.
Here are five talking points from the match...
‘Are you not entertained?’
Alexander-Arnold lets his football do the talking.
The No.66 produced a piece of brilliance to change a match completely for the second weekend running.
Having wonderfully created the opening goal at Arsenal, the full-back did the honours himself this time around.
In the first minute of injury time, Alexander-Arnold secured the points with an unstoppable, bending effort right into the bottom corner.
“It was some finish as well!” James Milner noted post-match. Added Jürgen Klopp: "It was the best goal for ages emotional-wise."
His manager deemed the moment to perfectly sum up the 22-year-old's character after a testing past few weeks in his career.
The Scouser in our team.
Putting pressure on top-four rivals
Jürgen Klopp’s expressions at the end conveyed it all – this was a significant win for his side.
As Ozan Kabak stressed beforehand, every game between now and the end of the season is must-win.
The victory pushed Liverpool into fourth in the table for a few hours – something that seemed far-fetched a few weeks prior.
However, Chelsea's 4-1 win at Crystal Palace saw them reclaim the spot, though the Reds remain two points adrift of the top four at the time of writing.
The Villa win does indeed keep alive Liverpool's hopes of securing a Champions League qualification place. But some members of the squad won't be constantly checking the league standings as a result.
“It’s more important for us to concentrate on ourselves and get ourselves to the level we have been at and get that consistency back," Milner said.
"I think if we concentrate on that and concentrate on ourselves game by game, then the rest will take care of itself and we can hopefully put a bit of pressure on other people."
This is Anfield
Klopp's men ended a six-game losing streak at Anfield with a display seen many a time during their club-record unbeaten run at the ground. It was full of persistence and quality.
Overcoming the opening goal, then a close VAR call that ruled out a quick equaliser and finally Villa’s backline right at the end, this was the Liverpool we've come to expect at L4.
The Reds have now scored 37 winners in the 90th minute or later in the Premier League – at least 12 more than any other side.
“To fight back, that’s the most important thing," Salah reacted. "We didn’t win a couple of games here. Mentally, it [could have been] like, ‘Ah, not again.’"
Salah keeps on scoring
The Egyptian moved level with Harry Kane at the top of the Premier League's Golden Boot chart.
His 57th-minute header takes his tally in the top flight so far this season to 19.
Overall, the No.11 has netted 28 times in all competitions during 2020-21 and eclipses his total from the previous two campaigns.
Salah has seven games remaining in his bid to secure his third Golden Boot award since arriving at Liverpool.
A big week ahead
"This today helps, of course," Klopp admitted during his post-match press conference.
Liverpool will now hope to carry the momentum from the Villa victory into Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final meeting with Real Madrid.
Madrid, who themselves secured a morale-boosting win over title rivals Barcelona on Saturday, hold a 3-1 advantage from the first leg – requiring another Anfield comeback in Europe.
"It will be a tough one, but we will give it a try I can promise – and that’s the only thing we can say," the boss said.
Whatever happens, another big game quickly follows as the Reds travel to Leeds United in a Monday night fixture.
Marcelo Bielsa's side displayed their threat earlier on Saturday when, down to 10 men, they clinched a 2-1 injury-time win away at leaders Manchester City.
Bring it on.