Liverpool scored two late goals - including a dramatic injury-time winner from Sadio Mane - as they came from behind to beat Aston Villa and preserve their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

With their 10-month long unbeaten league record seemingly about to end, the Reds dug deep to conjure a stellar finish, begun when Andy Robertson arrived at the back post to head them level.

Mane then provided the final, remarkable twist, glancing a header from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner past Tom Heaton and into the far corner of the net.

It was a cruel blow to Villa, who had led from the 21st minute through summer-signing Trezeguet’s first goal for the club - a volleyed finish from John McGinn’s free-kick.

The home side had shown huge endeavour, in a display that saw them match the European champions in the first half and then hold them largely at arm’s length until the dying moments of the second.

Having won two on the bounce earlier this month, Villa have now lost back-to-back games - admittedly to the league’s top two sides - leaving them in 16th place, three points above the relegation zone.

Villa deserve more

Villa were the nearest challengers the last time Liverpool won the title in 1990, pushing them all the way until the final month under Graham Taylor.

Having returned to the top flight following a two-year absence [sic], their ambitions this season are more humble. In truth, a 17th-placed finish will probably do.

They look far more equipped to secure their Premier League status than they did the last time they faced Liverpool at Villa Park, when Remi Garde’s side surrendered to a humiliating 6-0 defeat en route to relegation.

They are a much better side now, emboldened by a promotion and the acquiring of superior talent during the summer and this felt like a statement performance to a division in which they feel they belong.

They could have led through a saved Anwar El Ghazi effort, should have gone ahead through a Wesley header that he somehow glanced wide and finally did go in front when Trezeguet broke the offside trap to fire home from McGinn’s free-kick and provide a deserved lead.

The opportunities dried up in the second half as they conceded greater and greater territory to an opponent growing increasingly desperate.

But with backs to the wall, they rarely turned away from a challenge.

Villa deserved to emerge with a draw and a defeat was an extremely harsh reward for all their effort.

Having beaten Norwich and Brighton in their first two games in October, Villa have been
somewhat unfortunate to face Man City and then Liverpool in successive fixtures.

Man of the match - Marvelous Nakamba (Aston Villa). Holding midfielder Nakamba produced a tireless performance at Villa Park, winning more tackles (five) and gaining possession more often (nine times) than any of his Villa team-mates

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith, speaking to BBC Match of the Day:

“We’re disappointed we have come out with nothing.

“It’s a tough one to take. We created some big chances in the game but two basic mistakes cost us.

“We were always a threat on the counter-attack. We knew they were always going to have the ball.
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*The Guardian*
*Saturday, 2 November 2019*

Aston Villa, robust and defiant, were three minutes away from inflicting a first league defeat of the season on Liverpool, which would have given Manchester City as much a boost as Villa. Instead, Andy Robertson headed an equaliser in the 87th minute before running into the net to retrieve the ball so that Liverpool could seek a winner, which Sadio Mané delivered in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

The final whistle sent Villa players crumpling to the grass in dismay, as Liverpool’s cavorted around Villa Park in hard-earned glee. They had been discombobulated by fine opponents, frustrated by VAR and their own failings, but they had come out all smiles. For a while Mohamed Salah may have been regretting advising Trézéguet to join Villa last summer, as the less-acclaimed Egyptian scored his first goal for the club to give them a deserved lead in the 21st minute.

Villa protected that tenaciously for more than an hour and occasionally threatened to increase it. But Liverpool kept coming and, eventually, found a way to leave with all three points. Villa can at least take heart from performing splendidly without their most influential player, a calf injury depriving them of Jack Grealish. The man who replaced him, Anwar El Ghazi, had Liverpool panicking in the first minute, barrelling past Mané and Vigil van Dijk before unleashing a shot that Allison needed two attempts to hold.

That set the tone for a lot of what followed in a first period in which Villa were sharper and stronger than their opponents, especially in midfield. In the 10th minute Wesley was presented with a chance to open the scoring following a short corner routine but he failed to connect properly with Matt Targett’s cross.

Wesley, powerful and smart, treated Van Dijk to a far more uncomfortable game than the Dutchman is accustomed to.

Liverpool did not bare their teeth until the 13th minute, when Jordan Henderson looped a cross towards Mané, who headed wide from eight yards. Salah, very subdued and eventually replaced midway through the second half, tested Tom Heaton with a volley from an acute angle after Van Dijk deposited a long pass on his foot. The keeper saved well.

Then came the breakthrough for Villa. Players of each side lined up on the edge of Liverpool’s area to await a free-kick from the left by John McGinn, but the European champions were not as organised as they looked: Henderson was left to deal with two players at the back. He picked the wrong one to go with, leaving Trézéguet free to sidefoot a volley under Allison from five yards.

No team has been more frustrated by VAR than Villa this season so there was an anxious wait for confirmation that the goal would stand. It did.

Adam Lallana shot wide from six yards in the 75th minute after the visitors’ most incisive move by that stage. Their dismay could have deepened moments later when Trézéguet pounced on a mistake by Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Van Dijk intervened to stop Villa from doubling their lead. With three minutes left, Robertson ran on to an excellent cross from the right by Mané and headed into the net from close range. Liverpool were not done. Deep into stoppage time Alexander-Arnold delivered a corner that Mané met at the near post, guiding a low header into the far corner to ignite wild celebrations among the travelling players and fans.

Dean Smith declared himself “very pleased” with Villa’s general performance but lamented “a lack of concentration, two basic errors” that allowed Liverpool to score. “I said to the players after the game that I’m really proud of their performance,” said the manager, “but I want them to feel the hurt and take it into the next game because that’s how you improve.”

Klopp: “I can imagine how bad Aston Villa feels because with all they did today, they would have deserved something.”

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith:

“It’s a very tough one to take. I thought we frustrated them, which not many teams do. I thought there was a lot of inconsistency with some of the officiating today. All in all I’m disappointed because I think we deserved something out of it today. We were always a threat going forward. We take a lot of pride; I want the players to feel hurt as that’s the only way to move forward and take it into the next game.”