NB: Video on this article has been removed in accordance to international license restrictions.
By Greg Robertson
Hello and welcome to Villa Park where we have Aston Villa hosting Liverpool in both sides’ first game back from the international break.
Will Suarez keep firing them away and try and salvage something from the Liverpool season?
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights and all the action of the English Premier League. Make sure you REFRESH your browser occasionally so you don’t miss any of the action. VIDEO will be available as soon as the final whistle goes.
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LIVE COMMENTARY… Aston Villa 1 – 2 Liverpool
FULLTIME: Liverpool wins 2-1. ALL VIDEO UP.
90+2 MINS: Benteke finishes but he's a mile offside. No issues there.
90+2 MINS: Seats emptying around Villa Park now... THREE ADDED MINUTES. Westwood booked for a studs up challenge on Henderson and looking at replays it's lucky he's not seeing red.
87 MINS: Well it's been hard yards for Aston Villa today but to be honest, Suarez has missed enough goals for both teams today so Villa - although having the lead early on - can't feel too aggrieved if the score stays this way.
85 MINS: Suarez snatched a miss chance from the jaws of a goal right then... he had actually dribbled around Guzan and had the net beckoning... oh man, that is a massive miss, he just things all trapped up underneath himself.
83 MINS: Villa getting a touch of desperation into their play and that's allowing Liverpool to break when Villa are pushing forward. Liverpool though are being careful not to committ too many numbers.
79 MINS: Suarez chops a ball back on the angle for substitute Sterling and he in turn stabs a shot at goal, Guzan an equal to it with ease.
74 MINS: Both sides trying but failing to string some meaningful passes together... Villa try and rebuild with N'Zogbia, Delphe, off to Westwood then square to Bennett... looked good for a while but Liverpool had 10 klayers behind the ball and they only needed one of them to put the foot in to break that play down.
65 MINS: Gerrard saves the day and clears off the line from a Benteke header after a corner. You could have sworn that was going in.
63 MINS: Double change for Villa Weimann off N'Zogbia on.... and I completely missed the other one.. oh it's Bannan off and I think Delph on. Yes, those are the changes.
60 MINS: PENALTY LIVERPOOL. Suarez cuts back from the byline and Baker takes both legs with him. No hesitation to point at the spot. Here comes captain Gerrard.... scores! Liverpool leads 2-1.
58 MINS: Ohhh Johnson off the upright with Guzan no where near. Lot's of 'Ohhs' in the last few minutes. Johnson just put a foot on it and pulled the trigger, grabbing a slight deflection and bending smack square into the left hand post.
55 MINS: Ohhh the dancing feet of the little Brazilian beat Guzan all ends up but he dabs it agonisingly past the post. He should have scored.
53 MINS: Well that's actually settled things down a little... Liverpool captain Gerrard a few minutes ago gets a yellow card for a rash challenge on Agbonlahor.
47 MINS: Back underway and it's a GOAL LIVERPOOL! Coutinho with a fantastic angled ball through for Henderson to charge on to, composes himself and a little dink over Guzan who is caught in no man's land.
HALFTIME: Villa leads 1-0
43 MINS: What was that? Villa give a gift to Suarez and play him through with a skewed ball off the boot, off Bennett I think, and Suarez is away on goal... just Guzan to beat and he;s angling in to him, lets rip with the right foot aiming between the keeper's legs but Guzan saves with his feet. Guzan then makes another fine save from a Gerrard heat seeker. ONE MINUTE ADDED TIME
39 MINS: Suarez runs onto a lobbed ball over the top, beats a couple of players - twice each - then wins a corner that is easily cleared and Villa breaks.
36 MINS: You can't say Liverpool has taken their chances... you could say they've wasted a few. Suarez perhaps having a slight off day? He just smashes one crowd-wards and then gets a solid ribbing for it. The look on his face says it, he's not that comfortable out their on the pitch. One solid strike will change that.
31 MINS: GOAL ASTON VILLA! A speculative through ball finds Agbonlahor and it bounces about off him before Benteke just decides to smash it into the Liverpool net. Great goal, well taken. Class.
30 MINS: All class from Suarez apaert from the finish. He dribbles and dribbles, cuts inside on the dribble then on the outside on the dribble to give himself enough room to shoot. Straight at Guzan.
29 MINS: Agbonlahor fights off some trackers, trying to find the room to shoot and pulls the trigger from a mile away, skirting along the deck well wide.
24 MINS: Right now Liverpool are struggling to clear the ball cleanly and suddenly Coutinho slides through Suarez and pressure from Baker is the only thing that stops Suarez finding the target.
20 MINS: Guzan denies Suarez! Lovely little reverse from Johnson and Suarez cracks it with his left, Gizan palming it away with class.
17 MINS: HOW DID Agbonlahor MISS? Reina denies him from point blank range and what a ball in it was. That really should have been the lead to the home side. It was Lowton with the stunning delivery that scooted in and angled behind the Liverpool defence.
15 MINS: I tell you what, Suarez is showing some great pace today and about four times has been just a half yard from claiming a killer through ball... and he's half a yard ahead of the defence.
13 MINS: Gerrard and Downing causing some havoc down the right flank and win a corner after a Gerrard bullet cross is knocked behind. Calls of "away" from the corner and so it does. Swing of play and Benteke heads wide, but there's a Liverpool touch on it too. It travels safely and harmlessly past everything for a goal kick.
11 MINS: Suarez off to Johnson, back to Suarez, ends up with Johnson and he cracks one - calling for a handball just after his effort but never going to get it - and it squirts to Guzan in the Villa goal.
8 MINS: Vlaar has a swipe at a ball after some good enterprises breaks down for Liverpool, and Vlaar's effort is to miss it with his right foot and somehow kick it out with his left foot for a corner. From that, Suaraez tries to bend one with the outside of the right boot but it's high and wide to the great delight of many inside Villa Park.
5 MINS: Ohh great work from Benteke, lays it off backward to Westwood and he finds Bennett out wide who delivers a beauty and Benteke and Agbonlahor both miss it. A touch and it was a goal.
2 MINS: A long, searching ball forward err 'searches' for Luis Suarez and he does the hop on one leg with the other full extended to try and pull it in, but can't.
1 MINS: Lee Mason gets things underway and it's Liverpool who attacks first and Downing's early shot is blocked and rebounds way down field.
The off is just moments away...
We have our live pictures from Villa Park - get ready for some football action. Villa has come from behind of recent, can they do it again or in fact lead out? Benteke seems to go well against Liverpool, we'll see what sort of influence he has.
Kick off is not far away so in the meantime watch Liverpool down Spurs.
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Teams
Aston Villa: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Baker, Bennett, Westwood, Bannan, Sylla, Agbonlahor, Weimann, Benteke. Subs: Given, N'Zogbia, Delph, Dawkins, El Ahmadi, Bowery, Lichaj.
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Enrique, Carragher, Agger, Lucas, Henderson, Gerrard, Coutinho, Downing, Suarez. Subs: Jones, Coates, Skrtel, Shelvey, Sterling, Suso, Sturridge.
Pregame banter
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said losing Jamie Carragher will be a 'big loss' ahead of the English Premier League match against Aston Villa.
Both were managers in charge of new clubs at the start of the EPL season - but Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will be more relaxed than Paul Lambert of Aston Villa going into the game between the two sides.
Villa are just three points above the relegation zone with Wigan having a game in hand.
Despite the league position of Aston Villa, Rodgers still believes that Paul Lambert is the right man to lead the club to a better future.
There hasn't been any Premier League action for two weeks but Luis Suarez has continued to make headlines across the world.
There was some transfer speculation regarding his future away from Anfield - something Rodgers was keen to stress was untrue.
FIFA are also investigating an incident where Suarez appeared to punch at Gonzalo Jara in Uruguay's 2-0 loss to Chile.
Referee Nestor Pitana took no action at the time.
Jamie Carragher's imminent retirement means a replacement is needed in the summer.
Rodgers said that losing Carragher would be a 'big loss' and that the defence was an area he was looking to strengthen.
Both Carragher and goalkeeper Pepe Reina are back in the squad for the game away to Villa.
Rodgers was coy about reported interest in Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen.
But he did confirm that Liverpool scouts had attended an Ajax match.
“Unfortunately when you are a manager, and when you are working with teams, there are no 'debuts' in teams. You are thrown in and you have to get on with it straight away. But I have always said that over time, he (Paul Lambert) will turn the club and turn the team into a real side that can be challenging and a really competitive team. He is an outstanding manager who will do very well there (at Aston Villa),” says Rodgers.
On transfer speculation surrounding Luis Suarez, Ridgers says: “I haven't spoke to Luis (Suarez) yet. He was obviously back yesterday - later on in the afternoon and we just ran the medical team over him. And then I was training this morning. No. I haven't spoke to him. Every time Luis goes away there is always something. But all I am aware is that we have an outstanding football player who has given everything for the club and he is very happy here.
"There's no player that is irreplaceable but he is a big loss because you see his experience and how it leads the line and when you are playing, and as a defender you need someone in there that is vocal and can organise the line, and he does that remarkably well. I have also got really good players here. Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel - and as I said we have got some really, really good players. Between now and the end of the season we know we have got to strengthen the group and that's something that we will look at doing.”
3 News/SNTV
source: newshub archive
