Liverpool vs Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[PaulWinch again]

Very poor and very predictable.

If you buy defenders who aren’t very good at defending and then play a high line against one of the best counter attacking teams in the league without pressuring the ball, what do you expect?  It felt inevitable.

Torres was very poor today as were most of the team give or take a couple, but to decide after 4 games, two of which we’ve scored 7 and conceded one, that the Europa League winning/champions league semi finalist, Spanish international defender, can’t defend, is a huge leap and most probably garbage.

Agreed.

[edgysatsuma89]

Like most losses you can accept them if you are competitive but we were anything but. I didn't think we would win (I went with an optimistic 3-3) but I didn't think we would basically be never in the game. That 2nd half I barely looked up from my phone and that doesn't happen to me often, we just weren't in it.

[kippaxvilla2]

I’m sorry but for the 2nd time this season tactically inept.  Against the better teams you have to sit in to an extent at least to take the sting out of the game but no let’s defend on the halfway line and allow them to walk through us.  Game over again after five minutes.

[SamTheMouse]

We did ok up there last season, and it wasn't very long ago. What did we do different this time?

[PaulWinch again]

I’m sorry but for the 2nd time this season tactically inept.  Against the better teams you have to sit in to an extent at least to take the sting out of the game but no let’s defend on the halfway line and allow them to walk through us.  Game over again after five minutes.

You don’t have to sit in. But you absolutely have to press the ball if you want to play the high line, we didn’t.

[ChicagoLion]

If you play a high line you have to press, if you do the former and not the latter you are asking for trouble.

[PaulWinch again]

We did ok up there last season, and it wasn't very long ago. What did we do different this time?

We weren’t bedding in new players and they were in a bit of rut.

[PeterWithesShin]

The majority of time Emery and the players get it right, and when they get it wrong it's usually a bit of a car crash. We're still miles ahead of what and where we were before he arrived, and it's because they've got it right so often that our expectations are now so high. Possibly unrealistically high. A year ago we were on 4 points from 6 games under Gerrard, imagine saying then that in 12 months time we'd be hoping to challenge for CL qualification and would be favourites to win a European trophy.

[Ads]

With Moreno's three lungs pinning others back and JJ's physical presence and ability press and drive with the ball, the system against the better sides looks limp.

That said, it was stupifying how often we gave the ball away. Unfathomable.

[brontebilly]

Lenglet should have come on not Bailey

Terrible perfomance all round

He was about to but seemed like Emery had a late change of mind. We were just after having a good spell before Carlos injury and I guess he felt it was time to go after them with an attacking change. Terrible decision though, team setup the same as at Newcastle and it felt like a 5-1, 3-0 flattered us a bit.

Think it was a reality check today. Burnley and Everton are genuinely awful teams and Hibs are levels below them even. Liverpool are at or above Newcastle's level and like them dispatched us at their ease. Aside from being a tactical rabble today, we were flat from the off. Likes of McGinn, Kamara and Watkins were miles off it. Digne is a very average defender and was horribly exposed on the left. Torres,  as bad an individual performance I've seen in a Villa shirt. Carlos must be a huge worry given his injury record. Also the subs...Bailey, wrong man to bring on but taking of a sub is fairly brutal and don't think he deserved it, Zaniolo was no better. Tielemans and Duran's cameos were genuinely worrying, I know the game was gone but Tielemans was miles off pace again and Duran was like a competition winner upon his introduction.

Martinez 7, Cash 6, Konsa 7, Torres 1, Digne 4, Kamara 3, Luiz 7, McGinn 4, Diaby 7, Watkins 3, Carlos (Bailey 5, Zaniolo 5).

Emery 3 - no surprise to see team v Burnley retained but decision to replace Carlos with Bailey was reckless in the extreme and we paid for it dearly. That high line without Mings simply won't work with Torres.

[ez]

We have played two decent teams in Newcastle and Liverpool and been dicked twice.  This is how Unai will measure us.  Not against the likes of Everton, Burnley and Hibs but by the Liverpool's and teams that finish in the top 4.  He's not stupid and will try to bridge the gap with quality purchasing and coaching.  He knows that winning a trophy is where our aim is at, because we are not winning the league for a while and probably not finishing in the top four unless we do brilliantly in the next two to three transfer windows.  We have to be patient.  I genuinely hate losing, especially in the manner that we have lost these games, but it is where we are at the moment.

Newcastle have been poor apart from one game.

It doesn't matter, they finished in the top four and have something we don't, Champions league football and are a class side but haven't yet sparked.  Class is permanent, form is temporary.  They will be fine, not top four fine, because that won't happen again for them.

I agree they won't match that again. We need to make sure we are the club who takes their place.

[Monty]

Bronte, Bailey was horrible, again.

[Drummond]

Second best in everything everywhere today.

[Matt C]

We won’t be the last team to be comfortably beaten at their place this season but the disjointed nature of the performance and the fact we didn’t lay a finger on them is what really sticks. And now we get to stew on it for a fortnight.

[Ian.]

I had a bad feeling about today, said before the match I wasn’t confident at all. Hopefully this will ground us a little bit and also keep us under the radar. We certainly miss Mings in defence, he’s a hard man to replace.