Many say that Jurgen Klopp’s team suffered a hangover due to Thursday’s 4-0 demolition at the hands of Manchester City – the heaviest defeat by a team that had crowned the Premier League champions – but Liverpool recovered in time to place the relegation of Aston Villa threatened with the sword.
It wasn’t all simple sailing at Anfield on Sunday because Villa wasted some good opportunities to take the lead, before Sadio Mane finally broke the deadlock after 71 minutes. Villa, who gave the hosts an honorary guard before the match, had further chances to equalize the score, but Liverpool youngster Curtis Jones wrapped up the victory in his dying moments with his first goal in the Premier League.
This ended the perfect weekend for 19-year-old Jones, who signed a new five-year contract with his childhood club on Saturday.
Klopp cut the sad numbers after City’s defeat and became angry with a simple question from a reporter after the match, although his mood is likely to be much better on Sunday night.
Some have questioned Liverpool’s desire to come out and win after securing the club’s first league title in 30 years. That doubt must be answered by the performance of the battle against Villa.
Victory maintains Liverpool’s perfect home record in the Premier League this season, with 17 wins from 17 matches, and also keeps the club on track for a record total Premier League points.
Manchester City’s 2017/18 “Centurions” holds the current record after being the first team to reach 100 points. If Liverpool win all five matches remaining, the club will set a new record of 104 points.
Next up for Liverpool is another match to fight Brighton and Burnley, before finishing the season against Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle.