Aston Villa were left licking their wounds against Liverpool again.
Unai Emery took charge of his 100th game as Aston Villa manager on Saturday evening and the Merseyside club had been the only team he hadn’t beaten since moving to the Midlands.
And, after the full-time whistle blew, that remained the case after Liverpool recorded a 2-0 win against an out-of-form Villa at Anfield.
There is no doubt that the away team had their chances, especially from set plays, the only issue is that Arne Slot’s side were producing dangerous counter-attacks nearly every time there was a corner for the opposition.
The opening goal was scored by Darwin Nunez following a fast break and a finish from a tight angle, but he should have scored a second goal, only for his one-v-one effort to blaze over the bar.
Aston Villa tried to push for an equalising goal, but to no avail, Morgan Rogers missed a guilt-edge chance at the start of the second half.
But, in the end, Mohamed Salah, who assisted Nunez for the opening goal, finished the game off by scoring yet another counter-attacking goal for his team.
From a defensive aspect, it didn’t make good reading for Villa, with Michael Owen and Darren Bent highlighting one player, in particular.
Michael Owen and Darren Bent ‘baffled’ by Ezri Konsa’s defending during Aston Villa’s loss to Liverpool
Salah was racing through on goal from the right flank when Ezri Konsa was chasing him down.
Konsa has the pace to catch up with him, and he did, but rather than try to challenge the player, he ran towards the goalline instead.
That call left Michael Owen and Darren Bent ‘baffled’ because, as former strikers, they felt that he made Salah’s mind up for him, in regards to where to shoot.
The Egyptian star proceeded to fire the ball towards Emi Martinez’s near post and Bent thinks Salah would have been ‘delighted’ when Konsa didn’t cut off his path, as he told Premier League Productions (09/11/24 at 10:50 pm).
“You spotted this, Benty, just explain this defending,” said Owen. Bent then added: “For Konsa, it’s not going to affect the ball. He chooses to opt and go away. Almost makes up Salah’s mind for him.
“In that position being Salah and the goalscorer that he is, he is probably delighted that Konsa’s done that. If Konsa goes and affects the ball, then he has to play it or square it. But the fact that he runs towards Salah and then runs completely away. It then makes Salah’s mind up there and such a composed finish.”
Owen stated: “It was incredible the counter-attacking. Every time Aston Villa had a corner, they either looked like scoring or looked like conceding because Liverpool counter-attacked. This is a different type of counter-attack. Mo Salah is calm and calculated. He takes his time, just like every other striker. But this baffled us both, which is Konsa in the middle there.”
Konsa’s stats for Aston Villa against Liverpool
Emery needs to make his mind up. Either Konsa plays at right-back or at the heart of the defence.
This chopping and changing is helping nobody, especially the player, who hasn’t hit his usual heights in recent weeks.
Yes, Matty Cash’s injury issues don’t help matters, but there are still two other right-back options to pick from – Kosta Nedeljkovic or Lamare Bogarde.
If Konsa’s form drops off, then Villa are in real trouble, with the player rated 6.52 by WhoScored for his performance at Anfield.
| Aerials Won | Key Passes | PA% | Inter | Clear | Fouled | Touches | Rating |
| 0 | 0 | 84.9 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 48 | 6.52 |
