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.