3 things we learned from Aston Villa’s shock win over Liverpool

Two weeks after smashing Tottenham Hotspur, 3-0, at White Hart Lane, high-flying Liverpool were dealt a major blow at Anfield. Aston Villa continued their fine start to the season with a surprise -- and deserved -- 1-0 win.

Liverpool were expecting to cement their status as title contenders here, but it was Aston Villa who went ahead early on. Having won a ninth-minute corner, the visitors were handed the lead on a platter when Dejan Lovren lost Philippe Senderos, allowing the big defender a free header. It didn't go straight in -- the shot was blocked by Javier Manquillo, but Gabby Agbonlahor was the first to the loose ball and squeezed it just inside a scrambling Simon Mignolet and his left-hand post.

The visitors dropped deeper in the second half, allowing Liverpool to come at them and shutting them down as soon as they got into the final third. Despite mounting pressure from the Reds, Brad Guzan didn't have too much to worry about until nine minutes from time, when Philippe Coutinho worked his way into space at the top of the box and fizzed a shot past the goalkeeper only to see it ricochet off the post. Raheem Sterling's follow-up effort hit his own player and bounced to safety.

That turned out to be Liverpool's only real chance of the match. It wasn't a pretty game by any means, but it was a ruthless performance from Villa, who now find themselves four points ahead of Liverpool, second only to Chelsea in the Premier League table.

Liverpool starting lineup (4-3-3): Simon Mignolet; Alberto Moreno, Mamadou Sahko, Dejan Lovren, Javi Manquillo; Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Philippe Coutinho; Lazar Markovic (Fabio Borini 71'), Mario Balotelli (Rickie Lambert 71'), Adam Lallana (Raheem Sterling 61').

Aston Villa starting lineup (4-3-3): Brad Guzan; Aly Cissokho, Philippe Senderos, Nathan Baker, Alan Hutton; Tom Cleverley (Carlos Sanchez 86'), Fabian Delph, Ashley Westwood; Kieran Richardson, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Andreas Weimann (Charles N'Zogbia 72').

1. Lovren's struggles continue. One of Liverpool's primary aims in the summer transfer window was to upgrade their defense. Three out of the four players in their back line -- Alberto Moreno, Javier Manquillo and Dejan Lovren -- were new signings, and although all have obvious quality the overall defending hasn't gotten any less catastrophic. Moreno and Manquillo's issues have looked like isolated errors, but Lovren has been a sustained disaster, continually getting pulled out of position and exploited no matter the quality of the opposition.
   
   That's obviously a bad sign for Liverpool, but Lovren's play has been so bad they can probably expect sheer regression to solve most of their problems for them. What is clear, however, is that the center back is currently some distance from a £16 million player.
   
   
2. Villa's run is no mirage. Without Christian Benteke around to score goals, Aston Villa aren't going to be a potent attacking team by any stretch of the imagination. So instead, they're going the defensive route, with Alan Hutton and Philippe Senderos the unlikely stars. Neither is a top-tier starter by any stretch of the imagination, but Paul Lambert sets up his side deep and compact, and all but the best sides are going to have trouble breaking through it should Villa stay disciplined.
   
   No, they're not going to challenge for the European places, but playing like this means that for the first time in several years the Villans don't look like they're under any threat of going down.
   
   
3. Mario Balotelli gets a bad rap. Sometimes it's difficult having a reputation. Mario Balotelli's antics mean that some of that reputation is deserved, but all the chatter around him means that he has a target on his back. Which leads to things like this going completely unnoticed:
   
   
   Philippe Senderos, you are a dick. Props to Balotelli for not losing his temper after being provoked all match.