Ambitious Reds get reality check

Liverpool 2 Aston Villa 2

In the days leading up to Aston Villa’s visit to Anfield last season, on the back of three victories, Brendan Rodgers had boldly spoken of his ambition to achieve something greater than a top-four finish.

Liverpool then crashed to a 3-1 defeat to Villa and went on to end the season in sixth – a whopping 26 points behind Premier League champions Manchester United and 12 off the Champions League places.

Rodgers’ assertion in the build-up to this meeting went a step further as he indicated his players have the belief and nerve to maintain a tilt for the top spot.

Understandable given their start to 2014. But this was something of a reality check.

Indeed at 2-0 down and with only minutes of the first-half remaining it looked like Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa would ram those words down Rodgers’ throat for a second time in as many campaigns.

The present Liverpool team showed they are made of much sterner stuff, however, with plenty of guts and glimpses of quality to haul themselves level.

Liverpool, who were tepid before the break, even appeared to have Villa on the ropes after they equalised and piled on the pressure. It is telling, though, that they were unable to deliver the kind of knockout blow that those above them in the table — Manchester City in particular you sense — might have done in similar circumstances. Of course, it is premature to write off Liverpool’s title hopes, but there is a nagging feeling on the Kop that these are precisely the kind of games the side must collect maximum points from if they are to end a 24-year wait for their 19th championship.

“Sometimes when you are on a run — we were going for eight straight win here — and sometimes you turn up thinking it’s going to be easy, then all of a sudden, you are 2-0 down,” Rodgers said.

“When you’re 2-0 down, and you’ve been playing as well as we have been here, sometimes there is that anxiety in the crowd. And that can spread on to the players.

“We played Stoke and then Aston Villa last year at the same time last season and we didn’t get any points, we lost both games.

“This time around we have four points out of the six. It could prove to be a very important point for us.”

In the first-half, Liverpool were overrun in midfield as Rodgers paid the price for his attacking gamble that saw the hosts start with Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge in addition to Suarez.

The home side badly missed the stability of Lucas in the centre of midfield — a tactical mistake Rodgers was able to correct at half-time with the Brazilian’s introduction before he went off injured to be replaced by the equally effective Joe Allen.

“We couldn’t get going and get any rhythm. We couldn’t get any flow in our game,” the Irishman conceded.

Gabby Agbonlahor, who missed a golden chance to score after 45 seconds, caused Liverpool’s full-backs problems and provided the assists for both Villa goals.

The Villa forward escaped down the left flank in the 25th minute and his low cross picked out Andreas Weimann, who evaded three red shirts and tapped home.

Agbonlahor popped up on the right wing 11 minutes later and his cross was of equal quality as Simon Mignolet and Glen Johnson both missed the ball which left Christian Benteke to head into an empty net.

Liverpool rallied before half-time and Sturridge latched on to a clever flick from Jordan Henderson and lifted the ball over Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

The hosts equalised after the interval with a controversial penalty, converted by Steven Gerrard, after Suarez went down in the box as he skipped past Guzan although the American goalkeeper was adamant he did not touch the Uruguayan.

“I thought at the time that I’d pulled my hands back and having seen it again on TV I don’t think I made contact with him,” Guzan said.

“It was a soft penalty. I think Suarez was probably a bit surprised as well to see it given. I said to him ‘Did I touch you?’ and he said ‘I don’t know’. That’s the honest truth of it. Sometimes they go for you and sometimes they don’t. Unfortunately for us it didn’t.”

Liverpool pressed for a winner but Villa, spurred on by a sense of injustice perhaps, battened down the hatches and ensured matters finished even. And left Liverpool fans with food for thought.

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Mignolet 5; Johnson 5, Skrtel 7, Toure 5, Cissokho 5; Henderson 7, Gerrard 6; Sterling 7, Coutinho 6 (Lucas 45; 7 (Allen 66; 7)), Suarez 7; Sturridge 8.

ASTON VILLA (4-3-1-2): Guzan 8; Bacuna 6, Vlaar 8, Clark 7, Bertrand 6 (Luna 81; 6); El Ahmadi 5 (Sylla 62; 5), Westwood 7, Delph 6; Weimann 8; Benteke 7, Agbonlahor 8 (Holt 49; 6).

Referee: Jon Moss