Aston Villa 1-3 Liverpool: Reds make winning start to Premier League top-four bid

Liverpool made a winning return to Premier League action as they restarted their bid to force their way into the top four with an entertaining victory over Aston Villa.

Goals from Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Stefan Bajcetic ensured the Reds recorded a third successive league win for the first time this season and reduced the gap to the Champions League places to five points.

While Liverpool's first fixture after the World Cup break resulted in a Carabao Cup fourth round defeat by Manchester City on Thursday, Salah's fifth-minute opener - created by a couple of sublime passes from full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson - gave them the perfect start on their league return.

Darwin Nunez's wastefulness prevented the visitors from extending their lead but they were able to add a second before half-time when Van Dijk's shot deflected in off Ezri Konsa following a corner.

Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey had both squandered a couple of fine opportunities for Villa in a hugely entertaining first half but Unai Emery's side were rewarded for their persistence after the restart when Watkins headed in Douglas Luiz's cross.

However, Spanish teenager Bajcetic's first senior Liverpool goal nine minutes from time, which followed great work by Nunez to recover the ball at the byeline, ended home hopes of a dramatic fightback at Villa Park.

Liverpool up and running in top-four bid

While Jurgen Klopp said he was pleased that his sixth-placed side would resume their campaign "within punching distance" of the Premier League's top four, he added prior to kick-off that he felt it was a "long arm still" following their early season struggles.

But, with a game in hand on fourth-placed Tottenham, the Liverpool boss must now feel confident of attaining their target in the second half of the campaign.

The Reds' cause had received an early boost when Spurs drew with Brentford earlier in the day and their first-half double put them in position to take full advantage.

Robertson's crucial role in the opener - setting up Salah with a first-time ball across the six-yard box after Alexander-Arnold's stunning outside-of-the-foot pass - saw him overtake Leighton Baines as the defender with the most assists in the competition's history (54).

Despite appearing comfortable at half-time it was certainly not job done for Liverpool against determined opposition and they were relieved to add a late third after withstanding spells of intense Villa pressure following Watkins' lifeline.

Klopp's side dropped 20 points from their opening 14 fixtures - two shy of the total number of points they let slip in the whole of the last campaign - but there are now signs of momentum for last season's runners-up.

Nunez shows worth despite misses

There may not have been a goal for Nunez to celebrate at Villa Park but the Uruguayan demonstrated flashes of the promise that convinced Liverpool to pay big money to sign him from Benfica in the summer.

There is certainly no doubt that he should have added to his tally of nine goals in 20 games for Liverpool here - and on another occasion such misses could prove costly.

The tenacious 23-year-old ended the match with the highest expected goals value of any player (1.15 xG) after landing four of his six shots on target - five of which were taken inside the penalty area.

But his 12 touches inside the opposition box - also a match-leading figure - hinted at his broader influence and his unpredictable movements caused huge issues for the Villa defence throughout.

Perhaps the clearest demonstration of his importance arrived in the build-up to Liverpool's third. Inside the final 10 minutes, Nunez refused to give up the chase and beat the ball to the byeline to allow Bajcetic to all but seal the three points and avoid a potentially awkward finish.

More to follow.

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Aston Villa

Line-ups

Aston Villa

Formation 4-4-2

25Olsen

18Young4Konsa5Mings27Digne

7McGinn44Kamara6Douglas Luiz10Buendía

31Bailey11Watkins

Substitutes

Liverpool

Formation 4-3-3

1Alisson

66Alexander-Arnold32Matip4van Dijk26Robertson

14Henderson3Fabinho6Thiago Alcántara

11Salah27Núñez15Oxlade-Chamberlain

Substitutes

Live Text

Match ends, Aston Villa 1, Liverpool 3.

Second Half ends, Aston Villa 1, Liverpool 3.

Attempt blocked. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lucas Digne with a cross.

Foul by Naby Keïta (Liverpool).

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Tyrone Mings.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa).

Substitution, Liverpool. Ben Doak replaces Darwin Núñez.

Foul by Harvey Elliott (Liverpool).

Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Attempt blocked. Stefan Bajcetic (Liverpool) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Darwin Núñez.

Substitution, Aston Villa. Danny Ings replaces Emiliano Buendía.

Substitution, Aston Villa. Leander Dendoncker replaces Leon Bailey.

Substitution, Aston Villa. Philippe Coutinho replaces Boubacar Kamara.

Foul by Stefan Bajcetic (Liverpool).

Boubacar Kamara (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Attempt saved. Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Mohamed Salah.

Goal! Aston Villa 1, Liverpool 3. Stefan Bajcetic (Liverpool) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner.

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

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