Martin O’Neill didn’t have to say a single word to convey his emotions upon addressing the assembled media – his face told a thousand.

Anger. Frustration. Disappointment. Regret. You could go on and on. It was all there.

Given the Villa manager was so adamant afterwards that his team should have won the game, even a draw would have left him somewhat dissatisfied.

So to lose to a 93rd-minute killer goal from Fernando Torres which came about from a freak sequence of ill-fated events?

Well, that was just about too much to bear.

“It’s a blow, there’s no doubt about it – a real, real blow to us,” he winced. “It’s hard to take but we will come again.”

This was a big chance missed. And he, like everyone else, knew it.

Publically, no-one has played down Villa’s Champions League chances more than O’Neill – the defeats to Arsenal and now Liverpool have justified that stance.

Privately, however, it would be impossible for the Villa manager to have not started to dream about where their season was heading.

Having worked so hard to reach the front of the queue of teams bidding to break the big boys’ monopoly, Villa now find themselves at the back again.

A week ago they were perched in fourth but defeats to two of their rivals have seen them sink the sixth behind Tottenham and Manchester City.

Even Liverpool – widely regarded as in crisis – are just two points adrift.

Certainly, it represents an anti-climactic conclusion to the year for Villa.

But let’s not get too down-hearted just yet.

The initiative may have been surrendered but they remain in a strong position – one any fan would have surely taken after the opening-day defeat to Wigan.

Last season O’Neill was powerless to prevent their quest to reach Europe’s elite competition slipping through his fingers.

He admitted earlier this month that the doomed draw with Stoke at Villa Park – when they led 2-0 with three minutes left only to draw 2-2 – had been one of the key components in their campaign crumbling.

There were feint echoes of that match last night; firstly, in terms of the catastrophic conceding of the late goal and also the fact a win then would have put them eight points clear of Arsenal just as a victory last night would have given them the same advantage over Rafa Benitez’s team.

But O’Neill has assembled a group of strong-minded and lion-hearted players who have already proven they can overcome adversity this season.

There is no chance of them yielding without a fight.

Games with Wigan and West Ham – sandwiched in between some crunch clashes with Blackburn in both cups – represent a presentable opportunity to get things back on track before Arsenal visit on January 27 for what looks a key game.

With 54 points still to play for, that two-point deficit to Spurs looks pretty recoverable.

Now to the action.

O’Neill was forced into two changes for the clash with Nigel Reo-Coker given the nod to replace Ashley Young – James Milner reverted to the right wing – and John Carew coming in for Emile Heskey, who was left out of the 18-man squad due to illness.

There was certainly a festive feel as heavy snow fell from the skies in freezing conditions but, in truth, this was no firecracker to warm the spectators.

O’Neill’s men called the shots for the majority of the first half and their central midfield pair almost combined to sublime effect after 29 minutes.

Reo-Coker’s dinked ball into the box was chested exquisitely by Stiliyan Petrov but, with his back to goal, the only option available to the Bulgarian was an audacious overhead kick.

Sadly, it couldn’t match the control.

Just a minute later Villa’s best chance of the first half arrived – and, surprise, surprise, it came courtesy of a set-piece.

Stewart Downing was left all alone at the back post to meet James Milner’s deep corner flush on the volley; the connection could not have been sweeter but unfortunately it was straight at Reina – otherwise Villa would have been ahead.

The driving snow coupled with some controversial refereeing decisions served only to crank up the atmosphere inside a packed Villa.

Most of them infuriated the home support but, ironically, the one that went Villa’s way was the most significant of all as Lee Probert waved away what were legitimate claims for a penalty when Dirk Kuyt went down inside the box on 37 minutes when caught by Richard Dunne.

A stop-start second half punctuated by Probert’s whistle failed to spring into action with both sides’ play often lacking invention.

Tiredness was one plausible explanation for Villa’s sluggishness given they had barely 48 hours to recover from their Emirates exertions.

However, they improved midway through the second half and did manage to exert a period of pressure.

First Agbonlahor shrugged off Jamie Carragher to force a fine save from Reina and, from the resulting corner, John Carew’s glancing header flashed just inches past the post.

It really should have been 1-0.

Liverpool, were there for the taking.

But, instead, Villa were made to pay for their profligacy.

It’s a word that certainly seems foreign to Torres.

Anonymous for the previous 92 minutes, all he needed was one chance.

Quite how the ball managed to find its way through to him, though, will have irked O’Neill just as much this morning as it did last night.

From Stephen Warnock’s underhit pass to Richard Dunne’s untimely slip and Gabby Agbonlahor’s interception-turned-pass to Torres, there were plenty accountable.

Even then, Torres, on the right side of the area, still had plenty to do with the angle tight but the Spaniard did what he does best.

Now it’s O’Neill’s turn to do his.

By Brendan McLoughlin.