Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes were hindered by a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa, leaving both sides dissatisfied. Liverpool initially led through Mohamed Salah but fell behind after goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins. Trent Alexander-Arnold equalized with a deflected shot, although Liverpool could have secured a win if Darwin Nunez hadn’t missed a key chance. Despite being unbeaten in the league for 22 games, Liverpool’s recent draws allow Arsenal to maintain hope in the title race. Villa, sitting ninth, struggled for Champions League qualification despite nearly winning late in the match.
Liverpool’s pursuit of the Premier League title faced a setback against Aston Villa on Wednesday, as a thrilling 2-2 draw left both teams feeling unsatisfied. Arne Slot’s squad maintains an eight-point advantage at the top of the table over second-placed Arsenal; however, the Gunners hold one game in hand over Liverpool. The Reds initially took the lead through Mohamed Salah but found themselves trailing after goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins turned the tide in Villa’s favor. A deflected shot from Trent Alexander-Arnold earned the visitors a point, though it could have been a victory had substitute Darwin Nunez not squandered a golden opportunity late in the game. “You can understand there is one person in the dressing room who feels quite down,” Slot commented on Nunez’s missed chance.
“If you watch the game back, we created far more chances than them; we did everything we needed to do. The only thing that wasn’t perfect was conceding from a set-piece.”
Villa, too, came close to clinching the win in stoppage time, with Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen risking it.
A single point does little for Villa’s aspirations of a Champions League berth next season, leaving them in ninth place.
“A draw is fair for both teams because they had chances to score as well,” stated Villa boss Unai Emery.
Liverpool remains unbeaten in 22 Premier League matches, but after conceding a late equalizer to local rivals Everton, this second 2-2 draw in eight days provides Arsenal with a glimmer of hope in the title race.
Slot’s team faces a challenging away match against Manchester City on Sunday.
“We’re pleased with where we are,” Slot noted. “We’ve had a bit too many games where we felt we deserved more.”
“We want to achieve something together this season, and we have all the ingredients for it, but we still have 12 matches left.”
Emery handed Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio their first starts for Villa in response to a disappointing 1-1 draw against 10-man Ipswich on Saturday.
Rashford was close to assisting the opening goal but was just offside when his cross deflected into the net off Virgil van Dijk.
The home side made an error when the first goal finally came in the 29th minute.
An errant backpass from Andres Garcia went directly to Diogo Jota, who selflessly laid it off for Salah to score his 29th goal this season.
Villa equalized within nine minutes, as Liverpool failed to clear a free-kick, allowing Tielemans to volley home with finesse.
Jota missed a golden opportunity to restore the visitors’ advantage, firing high and wide with only Emi Martinez to beat.
Instead, Villa took the lead into halftime, as poor defending from Liverpool gave Watkins a clear path to head in a cross from Lucas Digne.
The second half saw Liverpool dominate, extending Slot’s unbeaten away record in the Premier League.
Jota nearly netted a spectacular goal, hitting the bar with a curling shot from the edge of the box.
Alexander-Arnold, becoming more influential in the game, leveled the score in the 60th minute with a deflected shot off Tyrone Mings.
Slot introduced Luis Diaz and Nunez from the bench in search of a late winner, but one of the substitutes failed to convert a crucial chance.
Nunez looked set to score from an open goal after being found by Dominik Szoboszlai but inexplicably shot over, to the disbelief of his manager.
Martinez had to come off his line swiftly to deny Nunez another clear attempt at goal.
Villa, however, had the better opportunities in a tense finish, with Jacob Ramsey’s goal disallowed for offside, followed by Rogers and Malen nearly scoring with powerful attempts off target.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article