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Liverpool fans on social media are divided on their mega summer signing's workings despite the Red's return to victory in the Premier League
Liverpool travelled to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa on Monday evening, December 26, 2022 in the Premier League.
The Reds were looking to bounce back from their Carabao Cup defeat against Manchester City last week when they faced Unai Emery’s team.
Jurgen Klopp’s men started the game brilliantly and soon got rewarded with an early opener after Andrew Robertson found Mohamed Salah in the box, with the prolific Egyptian making no mistake from close range to give the Merseyside Reds the 1-0 lead in the 5th minute.
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The Villans sought to quickly find the leveller and created a couple of decent chances with Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins coming close to scoring in the 14th and 17th minute respectively.
Liverpool thought they had doubled their lead in the 19th minute after Joel Matip headed home from Robertson’s freekick.
However, the Cameroonian’s effort was ruled out for offside to the relief of the Villa fans.
Things got interesting in the 26th minute as Unai Emery’s men came close to finding the leveller before a crucial clearance from Trent Alexander Arnold allowed Liverpool to break on the counter.
But Darwin Nunez saw his effort saved brilliantly by Robin Olsen having managed to run through on goal.
Liverpool continued to create more chances as Mohamed Salah burst into the penalty area in the 31st minute but his finish could only find the side-netting.
However, six minutes later, Liverpool doubled their lead after Virgil Van Dijk latched on to a pass from Mohamed Salah following a corner kick into the box.
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The Netherlands international made no mistake with a clinical finish to give the Reds a deserved 2-0 lead in the 37th minute.
Aston Villa fought back to at least find a response but failed to be clinical in the final third as Liverpool’s defense continued to repel their attacks.
Both sides eventually went into the break with Jurgen Klopp’s men holding a comfortable 2-0 lead against the hosts with 45 minutes still to play.
Second Half
Aston Villa thought they had a brilliant start to the second half after Ollie Watkins brilliant finish almost immediately after the restart.
However, his effort was ruled out for offside to the disappointment of Villa fans.
Villa came close again in the 47th minute after John McGinn’s header in the box failed to trouble Alisson.
The hosts continued to create quick chances in succession with Emiliano Buendia only managing to find the side netting a minute later.
Emery’s men soon found a reason to celebrate after Ollie Watkins fired home for the hosts to bring them back into the game in the 59th minute and make the score 1-2.
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Villa found renewed hope and continued to press for the leveller up until the 80th minute when they found themselves trailing once more.
Second half substitute Stefan Bajčetić found the back of the net for visitors two minutes after coming on to put Liverpool 3-1 up, having seen Darwin Nunez miss a crucial chance minutes ago.
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In the end, Liverpool held on for a 1-3 win away against Aston Villa, as they moved up to 6th on the Premier League summit.
Social Media Reactions
Following the victory for Liverpool, fans have had their say on their mega summer signing’s performance.
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