Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 2:THE WOODWORK continues to frustrate Liverpool and Luis Suarez in particular but this was never going to be one of those days when Kenny Dalglish was left cursing the dropped points that the upright and crossbar have cost his team this season.
Liverpool were already two goals to the good by the time Suarez was shaking his head after twice striking the goal frame – something Dalglish’s side have done on 17 occasions this season – and the brutal truth is that a listless Aston Villa side never looked like recovering.
Liverpool were in control from the early stages and cruised to a fifth Premier League away win on a day when they could afford to play with something in reserve. Craig Bellamy and Martin Skrtel struck early following corners to expose Villa’s frailties at set-pieces and but for Suarez’s misfortune and a couple of fine saves from Brad Guzan, the scoreline would have been much more convincing.
With Gabriel Agbonlahor suspended and Darren Bent injured, Villa could have been forgiven for lacking a cutting edge but excuses were not so readily available for shortcomings in other departments. There was little pattern to their play and the ball was given away too easily, causing moves to break down and gifting Liverpool several chances. Christmas, in other words, came early for a Liverpool side who are up to sixth, level on points with Arsenal.
“I think we got most things right: we’ve had a shutout, we scored two goals, we increased our goal tally, we increased our points tally . . . and we’ve increased the number of times we’ve hit the woodwork,” Dalglish said. “Luis’s chip for the second shot (that hit the bar) was fantastic. But we’ll keep trying because the harder you try the luckier you become; maybe one day they’ll go in.”
Dalglish singled out Suarez for praise because of the way the forward performed after a week when he was required to attend the disciplinary hearing into allegations that he racially abused Patrice Evra. “Suarez has been sat in a hotel room for three days. He’s only trained Tuesday and Friday and he puts in a performance like that. I think it speaks volumes for the man,” he said.
This was an awkward game for Stewart Downing. The England international left Villa under a cloud in the summer after submitting a transfer request, despite saying he wanted to stay. That Downing could have handled his departure better is indisputable, yet it can also be said the winger is entitled to feel vindicated he made the right decision.
He left Villa Park still searching for his first Liverpool goal but momentarily silenced the boos that greeted his every touch when he provided the corner-kick that led to the first goal, which Bellamy tapped in after Guzan had saved from Suarez. “I think it’s sad,” Dalglish said of the criticism Downing received. “They’d have been better giving the support to their own players because it wasn’t going to upset Stewart. He was excellent.”
Bellamy created the second with a corner that Skrtel headed beyond Guzan, after outjumping Alan Hutton at the near post. It was the eighth time Villa have conceded from a corner this season. “I am very disappointed we allowed the players free runs. It causes havoc and it’s something we have to address,” said Alex McLeish, who believes Bent has a decent chance of being fit to face Arsenal on Wednesday, after being ruled out of this game with a thigh strain picked up in training.
The Villa manager felt his side were “sloppy” in the second half, when Guzan made flying saves to repel efforts from Glen Johnson and Jonjo Shelvey and Suarez hit the woodwork twice. His first cannoned off the crossbar, after he got away from Richard Dunne and James Collins, and the second was a sublime chip that came back off the post with Guzan stranded. “If we can shave a couple of inches off the (post), we’ll be okay,” Dalglish said.
Guardian Service
