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BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) – Stunned Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said his team did “all the things you shouldn’t do in a football game” as they “lost the plot” to play at Aston’s hands. Villa in his 7-2 humiliation at Villa. Park in the Premier League on Sunday.
Following Manchester United’s 6-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool added to an extraordinary day by becoming England’s first top-flight champion to send seven league goals since Arsenal in 1953.
Ollie Watkins’ first-half hat-trick put Villa on the road to a stunning victory as Liverpool slid into a first loss of the season thanks to a dismal performance at the rear in the Midlands.
“We played in their hands, with all the goals,” Klopp said. “So the game has a specific direction.
“We continue to have good times, but our good times lead to nothing except two goals from Mo (Mohamed Salah).
“All their good times lead to a great opportunity or goals, and that makes the difference. All the things you shouldn’t do in a football game we did tonight, but all the credit to Aston Vila, as they forced us to do those things .
“The first goal had an impact, but it shouldn’t. We got goals like that in the past, but the reaction wasn’t good and we lost the plot.”
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith praised the effort on their side, as they scored three wins out of three in extraordinary fashion, to climb to second place in the table, ahead of Liverpool in fifth place.
“It was a lot of effort and hard work,” Smith told Sky Sports. “The work ethic, when Juergen Klopp says ‘wow’ you know you’ve done something right. The guys were excellent, they executed the game plan perfectly. Today we were at our best.
“It’s a good start, an exceptional result and a really good start. We will not become complacent, but we will enjoy tonight because results like that don’t happen too often. We have a lot of pride and confidence going” into the international break.
(Reporting by Peter Hall; Edited by Toby Davis)
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