Analysis: Liverpool defeat leaves Aston Villa sensing a missed opportunity

At half-time Dean Smith’s men were on course to become the first Villa team since Ron Atkinson’s class of 1992-93 to complete the Premier League double over the Reds.

They led, albeit rather fortuitously, thanks to Ollie Watkins’ 12th league goal of the season. Their hosts, beaten in their last six at Anfield and winless in their last eight home outings, appeared increasingly frustrated, not least after being denied an equaliser by the latest ludicrously tight VAR offside decision.

Yet by the final whistle it was the Reds who had found a way to end their home misery with a goal from Mo Salah and a stoppage-time Trent Alexander-Arnold winner.

On balance of play across the whole piece, it was perhaps a fair result. There remained a nagging feeling, however, Villa had somewhat fluffed their lines.

Typically excellent frontrunners, this was only the third time this season they had failed to see out victory after scoring first.

And the openings were certainly there during the second period, when their overall performance was considerably better than it had been in the first 45 minutes.

But when those moments came along, Villa could not seize them. When it mattered most, the inspiration they needed in the final third simply wasn’t there.

Missing too again, of course, was Jack Grealish. Pointing to the skipper’s continued absence as a reason for Villa’s struggles in attack feels rather a cop out but this was hardly the first time in recent weeks when it was hard not to think he might have made a critical difference.

It really wouldn’t have needed much to go differently for Villa to have remained right in the thick of the race for European football.

Falling short is certainly no disgrace and perspective important. When Villa left Anfield last July they sat in the relegation zone and the odds of even having a league fixture scheduled at the venue this season appeared long.

To have walked off the pitch on Saturday disappointed not to have secured at least a draw, despite knowing they had played nowhere near their best, was in its own way another indicator of progress. There are countless more. This has still been a very good season.

It would be fair, however, to say the chance to make it a truly special campaign has faded while Grealish has been sidelined. Victory on Saturday would have seen Villa move within two points of Liverpool, still with a game in hand. After defeat, the more realistic aim might now be securing a top-10 finish. With six of their remaining eight fixtures coming against teams above them in the standings, that may not be straightforward.

Increasingly, attention will start to turn toward next season, when an assault on the top half of the table will be much more of an expectation and less a pleasant surprise.

If nothing else the time without Grealish has served to expose deficiencies which require addressing during the summer, one of which is expected to be the recruitment of a quality No.10, comfortable in possession, who can provide support to the skipper and Watkins.

Ross Barkley, it feels safe to say, will not be that man. Saturday was the latest in a series of disappointing outings for the on-loan Chelsea star, Villa’s most high-profile acquisition of the last summer window.

When he entered the fray shortly before the midway point of the second half, the stage looked set for the boyhood Evertonian to continue his knack of tormenting the Reds, having made his Villa debut in October’s 7-2 thumping of Jurgen Klopp’s champions.

Barkley had chances too. But a left-footed shot, after being set up by Watkins, lacked conviction, while another opening went begging in the closing stages when, with just one defender in his path, he seemed caught in two minds whether to shoot or play in a team-mate. It was only about a minute later Alexander-Arnold hammered home the winner at the other end. On such margins are matches often decided.

Barkley was far from Villa’s worst performer at Anfield but this felt like another chance to spark his season gone begging.

Not for the first time in recent weeks, Smith’s team also lacked production from out wide and that is expected to be another area of focus come the summer.

Trezeguet, to his credit, rarely stopped running before seeing his afternoon cut short by a worrying knee injury. The Egypt international came within a whisker of scoring a truly impressive goal with a shot which rebounded off the inside of the post yet it was his one moment of quality in a performance otherwise lacking.

Still, he did better than Bertrand Traore, who barring one neat turn to set up Watkins in the previous weekend’s win over Fulham appears to have completely lost his mojo. A square pass 25 yards from his own goal to set up a Liverpool attack was typical of Villa’s sloppy play in the first half.

Anwar El Ghazi fared little better after replacing Traore off the bench. Keinan Davis might, in hindsight, have been more effective in pressuring a rickety home defence.

Villa’s biggest issue throughout was keeping the ball. With the safety blanket of Grealish removed, several players look noticeably less comfortable in possession, among them John McGinn, whose pass to set up Watkins’ 43rd-minute opener redeemed his own rather erratic first half-hour.

Watkins, together with Matt Targett and the unlucky Emiliano Martinez, was Villa’s standout. This was an afternoon when his fine work up front was deserving of better support.

In addition to putting away his only real chance of the match, the striker also created good openings for McGinn, Traore and Barkley in what was probably his best all-round display since February’s win at Leeds. England boss Gareth Southgate, watching on from the stands, will surely have been impressed.

Watkins’ signing for a club record £28million has been an unqualified success and it was always going to require more savvy recruitment to take Villa to the next level.

The long-term outlook, in that respect, remains bright. The short-term has become just that little bit frustrating.