Liverpool Vs. Aston Villa: 3-0 Loss At Anfield Extends Villa Losing Streak To Four

Liverpool earned a 3-0 win Monday over visiting Aston Villa, but it really wasn’t that difficult. A corner conversion, beating a high line and then a counter attack. Aside from some nice precision from Maxi Rodríguez on the third goal, it’s hard to think of anything remarkable Liverpool did tonight. Tonight’s result is all about Aston Villa.

They seemed to miss Ashley Young, one of the few players that can provide a spark when the game plan isn’t working. Their midfield missed Barry Bannan, not to mention Stiliyan Petrov and Nigel Rio Coker. Gabriel Agbonlahor wasn’t at his best, just returning from injury. As Mark Albrighton was losing battles with Paul Konchesky, you thought “maybe he came back too soon, too.” Ciaran Clark’s yellow means a suspension, the line was “caught” on the Ryan Babel goal (if you call an offside player being caught). Nothing went right for Villa on Monday. Hence, the lopsided result.

It’s not the type of performance you want to see from a team that needs to turn a corner. Whereas Liverpool look to be strengthening after poor start, Aston Villa is going in the wrong direction. They look much worse now than they did under Kevin MacDonald, and while injuries and suspensions could account for part of that, the team seems to be regressing with each match. From their Arsenal loss to losing to a bad Birmingham before being downed by Liverpool - each match yields a more frustrating performance. With the flies having already dropped, another reason needs to be found for the increasingly concerning performances.

Overall Gerard Houllier is 4-4-6 since taking over at Aston Villa, but following two wins to open his tenure, he’s won only twice in a dozen matches. With upcoming matches against West Brom and Wigan, Villa will have a chance to reverse coarse and, in a tight Premier League, quickly climb toward Europe. But that won’t happen unless Villa starts to improve, because after efforts like today’s, people may question how much better Aston Villa is than relegation-embattled Wigan.