Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa: Unai Emery's side pay the price for poking the bear as Mo Salah and Ryan Gravenberch get Arne Slot's side back on track
Don't get them angry. Surely they should have known that? All Unai Emery would have wanted was for his players to turn Anfield into a doctor's waiting room, filled with silence and tension, but instead they poked the bear.
The game Liverpool dared not lose became the game they gleefully won, fuelled by the energy of a crowd that acted as a 12th man, bellowing approvingly of every thunderous tackle and hollering disdainfully of every perceived wrong decision: Villa walked wide-eyed into a trap and paid the price.
Here was an exorcism of Wednesday's League Cup elimination against Crystal Palace, when Slot's team selection put him under a microscope. Back at near full strength, Liverpool moved back up to third, thanks to goals from Mo Salah – his 250th, no less – and the outstanding Ryan Gravenberch.
'It was very important,' said Salah and, much like his instinctive finish, those four words beautifully hit the target. This was a massive night, a crossroads game; one wrong turn would have sent them into jeopardy, the right decision would get them onto the highway.
To think it almost started so badly. Ollie Watkins's excellent link up play enabled Morgan Rodgers to find himself with space and time and, as Anfield held its breath, the England international unleashed a bending drive that sped past Giorgi Mamardashvili but slammed against the post.
All around cheeks were puffed out, 50,000 sighs of relief enough to fill a hot air balloon. What these fans needed to see, however, was Liverpool take flight after a ruinous month in which they looked like individuals and played with the cohesion of strangers.
Liverpool finally returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday
Mohamed Salah scored his 250th goal for Liverpool, reaching yet another superb milestone
After a difficult run of six defeat in seven, it marked a much-needed win for Arne Slot's side
Unai Emery's side paid the price for poking the bear, having hoped to build tension at Anfield
Not this time. You got the sense the tide was turning in the 17th minute when Cody Gakpo, such an important cog, pounced out of the shadows to rob Boubacar Kamara. Here was the match being thrown in the direction of the dynamite – soon it was ready to fizz and go 'boom'.
Suddenly a red swarm was buzzing over the visitors. Ezri Konsa did his best to hold it all together but Kamara and Amadou Onana couldn't retain possession long enough as Dominik Szoboszlai, a terrier called Andy Robertson or Alexis Mac Allister snapped and harried.
Robertson was central to a defining moment, when he and Virgil van Dijk teamed up to make a sandwich out of Evann Guessand in front of The Kop. All the locals want to see when things aren't going well is effort and commitment and this, undoubtedly, was appreciated.
Emery hated what he was seeing, wincing, screeching and looking like if he rubbed his hair any harder he would lift it off; his frustration would boil over so much, towards the end, that he was booked and the only surprise was that it took so long.
'We lost our positioning and they got on top,' said Emery. 'We made a huge mistake for the first goal.'
He wasn't wrong. Liverpool thought the breakthrough they craved had arrived in the 40th minute when Szoboszlai crossed for Hugo Ekitike but, while his header was beautifully dispatched, he had strayed offside marginally to meet it and Paul Tierney, on VAR, swiftly disallowed it.
No matter. In first half injury time, Villa made the mistake they had threatened all along. Not at any stage had they convinced they were capable of playing out from the back but this was spectacularly bad, as Martinez put the ball straight to Salah's feet.
Scoring wasn't easy. The ball was rolling at speed, at an angle, onto the Egyptian's right side but he didn't flinch and smoothly sent it back into the unguarded net. A little reminder, if it was needed, that form is temporary and class is permanent.
'That is almost unbelievable if you score 250 goals for one club,' said Slot, wide-eyed in wonder. 'You don't see that much in football anymore. Apart from the goal, he had a very good performance.'
Ryan Gravenberch doubled Liverpool's lead just before the hour mark on his return to the side
Morgan Rogers struck the post in the early stages with a curling effort from the left-hand side
Konsa and Emery leapt so high as the stadium erupted you thought they must have drawing pins in their shoes and the concession of this goal, clearly, was no less painful. Villa had been taking little steps along the board but now they had landed on a snake and were about to slither backwards.
Was there any sign of Liverpool being nervous in the second period? No chance. They continued with purpose and, when it was really needed, the second goal – the one that gave a buffer – arrived from Gravenberch, albeit with a slice of good fortune.
He had powered forward and his shot was going to make Martinez work but it skimmed off Konsa's outstretched boot, diverting it away from the Argentine. Gravenberch looked like the coolest man around as he celebrated but it meant a good deal more to Slot.
'You always feel pressure if you are at Liverpool,' he said. 'But we felt the support of the fans.'
Does this mean Liverpool are back? No. Absolutely not. Real Madrid and Manchester City await in the next seven days and only then will we get a gauge of where they are. It was a step, nonetheless, in the right direction. It was all anyone wanted.
