Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa: Liverpool player ratings as Reds march to a comfortable home win | Premier League 2023-24

Liverpool dominated from start to finish as they inflicted a comprehensive 3-0 defeat on Aston Villa at Anfield on Sunday (September 3). Goals from Dominic Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah sandwiched an own-goal from Matty Cash as the Reds ran out deserved winners.

The hosts flew out of the blocks, taking the lead in the third minute through Szoboszlai’s sweetly-struck effort. They kept up the attacking pressure and scored their second in the 22nd minute, with Cash turning the ball into his own net. Jurgen Klopp’s men looked the more threatening side in the first half, with Villa showing signs of promise on the break.

Liverpool began the second half with the same intensity as they did the first as Salah added their third in the 55th minute. This goal seemed to put the result beyond doubt as the rest of the game passed by without much incident.

On that note, here are Liverpool’s player ratings from a commanding Premier League win over Aston Villa.

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Alisson: 6/10

In addition to making three saves, Alisson was excellent with the ball at his feet, completing 32 of his 33 passes.

Trent Alexander-Arnold: 7/10

Alexander-Arnold (R) was at his creative best in the game.

Alexander-Arnold pulled the strings for Liverpool as his balls over the top caused the Villa defence all sorts of problems. An injury scare saw him go off in the 70th minute, by which time he had created five chances, more than anyone in the game.

Joel Matip: 6/10

Matip was his usual reliable self in the Liverpool defence, playing his part in keeping Villa at bay.

Joe Gomez: 7/10

Gomez deputised well for the absent van Dijk, dealing well with Aston Villa’s pacy attack. He made eight recoveries and completed 103 passes, more than anyone in the game.

Andrew Robertson: 6/10

Robertson was a willing runner up and down Liverpool’s left flank, joining in with the attack whenever possible. He was extremely tidy in possession as well, maintaining a passing accuracy of 95%.

Alexis Mac Allister: 5/10

Mac Allister kept things ticking over in the Liverpool midfield, recycling possession quickly and efficiently. The Argentinian was replaced late on in the game.

Dominic Szoboszlai: 8/10

Szoboszlai capped a superb display with his first Liverpool goal.

Szoboszlai opened the scoring with an excellent strike and shone in midfield throughout. The Hungarian also made six recoveries in addition to his attacking output.

Curtis Jones: 5/10

Jones put in a tidy shift in midfield on his return from injury and was replaced in the 65th minute.

Mohamed Salah: 7/10

Salah was a constant threat down Liverpool’s right flank and gave Lucas Digne a lot of trouble. The Egyptian was rewarded for his efforts with a goal early in the second half.

Darwin Nunez: 6/10

Nunez was rewarded for his heroics against Newcastle with a starting role in this game. He provided great energy up top for the Reds and claimed the assist for Salah’s goal and was replaced in the 65th minute.

Luis Diaz: 5/10

Diaz looked lively on the left wing, showing excellent pace and trickery. He was replaced in the 65th minute.

Substitutes:

Harvey Elliott: 5/10

Elliott slotted into the midfield and helped Liverpool see out the win comfortably.

Cody Gakpo: 4/10

With Liverpool content to see the game out, Gakpo struggled to get involved after coming on and had only six touches in 25-odd minutes.

Diogo Jota: 5/10

Jota looked to use his pace and dribbling skills to get in behind the Villa defence but did not make a real impact on proceedings.

Jarell Quansah: 5/10

Quansah replaced Alexander-Arnold for the final 20-odd minutes and showed great composure during his time on the pitch.

Wataru Endo: N.A.

Endo was only on the pitch for the final couple of minutes of the game.