Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 1 | Perfect 6 out of 6 for Brendan Rodger's men

Daniel Sturridge once again scored the winner for Liverpool in their second Premier League game against Aston Villa (Getty Images)

Liverpool secured yet another three points in another classy display at Villa Park this afternoon. The Reds were helped by an early goal by Daniel Sturridge which helped them seal the deal.

The Team

Brendan Rodgers put out an identical team to the one that came out on top against Stoke City in the Reds’ Premier League opener, opting to bench Liverpool’s new loan signing Aly Cissokho. Jordan Henderson played on the right hand side of midfield, with Coutinho on the left. It was more of a conventional 4-4-2 setup, with Sturridge and Aspas up front – this game seeing Sturridge lead the line more than he did against Stoke City – in which Aspas seemed to have that role.

The Game

The first 30-35 minutes featured a passing masterclass from the Reds. The passing was quick and sharp, and the movement off the ball was enough to give Aston Villa defenders much worry over the course of the first half an hour. The goal by Daniel Sturridge came as a result of a neat run from the English international into the penalty box and a combination of Enrique’s tricky low cross into the box and Coutinho’s vision to recognise Sturridge’s position behind him. But take nothing away from Sturridge. The Liverpool number 15 used his clever footwork to shake off Luna before dribbling past the keeper in Suarez-esque fashion and hitting the ball into the roof of the Aston Villa net.

Aston Villa fashioned a number of chances for themselves after the half hour mark, managing to trouble the otherwise very idle Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet in goal with shots from outside the box and their physical presence from set pieces.

The second half saw Aston Villa control the game, with the Villans managing to take control of the game from the get go. Chances were at a premium, as Aston Villa – like Liverpool- never quite did enough to break through Liverpool’s defence, and when they did, Mignolet was there to deny them, with the pivotal game-changing save coming in the 85th minute – where he managed to deny a powerful Christian Benteke shot from inside the penalty box with his left hand.

Analysis

Whilst Liverpool played extremely well, the unavoidable fact is that Liverpool remain void of actual clear cut chances. They consistently find themselves having to overcome a sea of defenders all the time . The first half effectively only saw two shots from Liverpool – as many as Villa managed in the first half – the two being the goal from Sturridge and a wayward shot from Coutinho.

The Reds simply need to get the ball into the box more. As that ground pass/cross from out wide suggested, Liverpool need to attempt the more ambitious passes – passes which may see them lose the ball – in order to create panic and chances inside the penalty box. Because as long as the ball is in that 12 yard box, there is always a chance for a lucky deflection to create a goal.

Something that improved in this game was definitely Liverpool’s finishing. Whilst they didn’t take too many shots, they made them count, and they won the match – something Liverpool failed to do last season.

In the second half, what was of interest was how Brendan Rodgers used Aly Cissokho. Instead of following the norm – move Enrique forward and leave Cissokho in the left-back position, Rodgers opted to use Cissokho as a left winger. This prompts a few questions as it is very well documented that Rodgers isn’t particularly confident with Enrique’s ability to defend. Whilst strong and quick, Enrique makes occasional misjudgments and errors resulting in chances for the opposition.

This could mean that either Rodgers doesn’t want to throw Cissokho in the deep end too quickly, or he isn’t too confident with Cissokho’s defending as well.

The move did little to affect the game though. Coutinho moving into the role Aspas had initially saw him being taken out of the game, with Aston Villa showing dominance in terms of ball retention in the second half.

But what’s there to complain about? It is a perfect start for Liverpool, with 6 points out of a possible 6 from their first 2 fixtures. Next week will see the acid test – Manchester United, and only time will tell if Liverpool can keep up this good form this season.