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Ollie Watkins scored a hat-trick in the first half and Jack Grealish starred for Aston Villa with an incredible 7-2 win over Premier League champions Liverpool on Sunday.
Liverpool were left without starting goalkeeper Alisson due to a shoulder injury and paid the price for a chaotic defense at Villa Park, with John McGinn scoring 3-pointers from Watkins in a wild opening period for Dean Smith’s men.
Mohamed Salah doubled his tally on either side of goals deflected for rookie Ross Barkley and Grealish, who contributed three assists in a brilliant display.
Grealish added another, as Villa had endless joy jumping the offside trap against Liverpool’s top line, with the Reds conceding seven for the first time since a 7-2 loss to Tottenham in April 1963.
Adrian’s hopes of keeping a clean sheet were dashed in four minutes when his misguided pass to Joe Gomez was taken advantage of by Grealish, who faced Watkins to concede at home.
Liverpool did not receive a penalty for McGinn’s contentious challenge to Salah, while Emiliano Martinez saw a similar error to Adrian’s that went unpunished before Watkins latched on to another pass from Grealish and fired into the upper right corner.
Salah halved the deficit, but Villa’s two-goal cushion was restored two minutes later when McGinn’s wicked volley found the bottom left corner.
Watkins completed his hat-trick before the first half ended by turning home a Trezeguet cross and the former Everton Barkley midfielder extended his lead 10 minutes after the restart, helped by a significant touch from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Salah swept to a cold finish in the 60th minute, but any hope of a late charge was quickly extinguished with a blow from Grealish that hit Fabinho and left Adrian on the wrong foot.
Adrian managed to prevent Watkins from scoring a fourth before Grealish made the most of a puzzling decision to try to catch him offside at the midline, scoring his second.
Watkins rang the crossbar in the 85th minute, but Liverpool were already poised for one of the most notable defeats in Premier League history.
What does that mean? A first for Klopp
Villa was in top form and became the first team to score at least four goals over Liverpool in the first half of a Premier League match since Klopp took over in October 2015.
In fact, the only time the Reds have conceded four in the first period of a game in any competition during the German’s tenure was on the same ground, when they fell 5-0 to Villa in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
However, this time it was a second row lineup and Klopp was not even on the bench, as the first team squad was absent at the Club World Cup.
Glorious grealish
Watkins may have become the first player to score a Premier League hat-trick against Liverpool since Dimitar Berbatov in 2010, but he couldn’t have done it without Grealish. The midfielder had multiple assists in the same top flight game for the first time and created a total of five chances for his teammates.
Horrible Adrian
With Alisson to be evaluated “week after week,” Klopp will be desperate to get him back as soon as possible. In his 21 appearances in all competitions with Liverpool, Adrian has made five mistakes that lead directly to goals. Alisson has the same amount in 92 games of this type.
Whats Next?
Liverpool hope to get back on track after the international break with a Merseyside derby against Everton, while Villa faces Leicester City.
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