A slip from Steven Gerrard may have cost Liverpool a Premier League title. A team of his will not do likewise this year, valiantly as Aston Villa tried. For an hour, Manchester City seemed to be closing in on the crown. Liverpool looked like dropping points for the second successive game.
But there was no slip-up after May’s great catalyst intervened. Liverpool have trailed in all three matches in the month, but their powers of recovery have been aided by Luis Diaz. The January signing was the architect of Sadio Mane’s eighth goal in his last 10 starts. The Senegalese got a crucial winner at Villa Park in a title-winning campaign in 2019: this, earlier in the game but far later in the season, has the potential to be as crucial.
In an instant, Jurgen Klopp was rewarded for benching Mohamed Salah, whose goal drought, penalties and matches against Manchester United aside, stretches back to February. If Klopp picked on form, he was vindicated on a day when Liverpool struggled to reach their best as they were buffeted by waves of Villa attacks.
There was a sense that, 59 games into a marathon season, Liverpool’s strenuous efforts were finally catching up with them. They were stretched as Villa were the sharper side in the first half, but they have a resilience and Klopp has an array of formidable forwards and the three who started combined for a decider that felt further testament to the relentlessness of Diaz.
Follow reaction from Villa Park below:
