Liverpool wasted the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to 10 points, because they had to come from behind to prevent the defeat against Aston Villa on Wednesday evening.
In a sparkling meeting in Villa Park, Mohamed Salah gave the League leaders an early lead before goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins before the break turned the draw upside down.
Trent Alexander-Arnold put things up shortly after the hour when the Arne Slot team had to settle for a point.
The result releases the Reds eight points from the second placed Arsenal, while the men of Unai Emery, who have not lost in the Premier League at home since August, stay in ninth place.
An acid -earned point in Villa Park 🤝 pic.twitter.com/metgcmjvf8
– Aston Villa (@AVFCofficial) February 19, 2025
How the action unfolded
A new, retro-tinted Nike Ball was used for the first time, but it was a well-known story in the early stages when the League leaders started strongly.
Virgil van Dijk shot from a tight corner after a neat set of moving at three minutes while Diogo Jota stabbed wide from an Andy Robertson Cut-Back.
Moments later, Jota went wide when the Portuguese international might have been much better.
But in 18 minutes Villa had the ball in the net. A neat one-two between Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio-Been make their full debut culminated in a driven cross that was returned by Ollie Watkins, but the offside flag was quickly increased.
On half an hour, Andres Garcia Liverpool gave a chance when the Villa man played in Jota while he played under pressure from Curtis Jones. Jota Kwadratic squared to Salah who shot in the roof of the net.
Ten minutes later Villa was the same. Rashford again turned out to be influential when his ball eventually fell to Tielemans and the Belgian sent his shot past Alisson.
The tails of the host were on and, stimulated by a jubilant Villa-Park public, completed the comeback in the first half of the stopping time. The ball was widely worked out to Lucas Digne, who struck Watkins from the left in a teasing cross to go home.
Villa Park is bursting while Ollie Watkins sets the home team for the break 🦁
📺 @tntsports & @Discoveryplusuk pic.twitter.com/ndvoakzfvt
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 19, 2025
The Liverpool players were broadcast early before the restart, with a final of the side who wants to struggle the draw in their favor.
And shortly after the hour they were the level of happiness with Alexander-Arnold Footed Emi Martinez was wrong through a deflection of Tyrone Mings’s leg.
It was a Premier League classic. The Reds should have taken the lead when replacement Darwin Nunez shot with the goal to his grace: an opportunity that lock with his head in his hands.
Darwin Nunez misses a golden opportunity to make Liverpool forward 😬
📺 @tntsports & @Discoveryplusuk pic.twitter.com/8f0rfedphs
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 19, 2025
Minutes later Donyell Malen, even as a replacement for Villa, could have placed the visitors in the front, but Alisson was the same.
Emery’s side had not allowed a second goal after Jacob Ramsey had found the net, but again the flag was raised quickly.
Malen again had another chance with death, but in the end the points remained.
