Benteke brilliance hands Villa victory over Liverpool

Liverpool's brief run of form came to an abrupt end on Saturday, as Aston Villa managed to claim a 3-1 victory in front of a stunned Anfield crowd. Star striker Christian Benteke was clearly the man of the match, as, sandwiched between his two goals, he set up Weimman with a world class assist, which demonstrated why the Midlanders' £18 million man Darren Bent has been confined to the substitutes' bench over recent weeks.

Despite their good record versus Villa- Liverpool have gained more points (72) against the Villains than against any other team- the Reds were simply not at the races and, for all their possession and goalscoring chances, they never looked like earning anything from the contest after Benteke put the visitors three up soon after the interval.

After Anfield observed a moment of applause for Phil Taylor, the former Liverpool player and manager who passed away recently, Liverpool began the match the brighter, pressing high up the pitch and forcing Villa's defence into mistakes. Five minutes in Lichaj almost turned Downing's cross into his own net, before the ex-Villain struck just wide of Guzan's goal from range.

Perhaps Liverpool's best chance went begging midway through the first period as, after stealing possession from Herd just outside the area, Suarez squared to the well placed Shelvey. Unfortunately, Shelvey took too much time on the ball and was eventually well tackled by Baker just as he went to pull the proverbial trigger.

Liverpool fans sportingly joined Villa supporters in their nineteenth minute applause for Stiliyan Petrov, the Bulgarian international who is still battling with leukaemia. They were stunned into silence ten minutes later, though, when the visitors took the lead completely against the run of play. Benteke collected the ball 25 yards from goal and arrowed the ball past Reina and into the corner of the net.

Suarez then smashed a shot into the side netting and Weimman took advantage of a poor back header from Johnson to loop the ball over Reina and onto the roof of the net, before the 21-year old Austrian tucked Benteke's ingenious back heel beyond Reina to double Villa's lead and leave Liverpool with a mountain to climb in the second half.

Weimman wheels of in celebration in front of a disbelieving Kop

Introduced at the break to add an extra dimension to our attack, Cole quickly helped Benteke to put the outcome of the match virtually beyond doubt. He was dispossessed in a crucial part of the pitch, allowing Villa to counter attack and Benteke to shrug off Skrtel before neatly finishing past Reina.

Man of the moment- Benteke made the difference

Liverpool's response was feeble and Villa stood firm to secure a hard-fought victory. Suarez's low free kick caused panic in the box but Villa eventually cleared, while Agger also scuffed an effort wide. In fact, at the other end Weimman almost doubled his personal tally, heading Bannan's cross just wide. Gerrard may have nodded Johnson's shot into the net from close range to clinch a consolation for the home side, but it was a case of too little, too late for Liverpool.

Considering Villa's lowly position in the Premier League table and the fact that they'd only scored four goals away from home prior to Saturday, this was a really disappointing result and a significant setback. Just as Kopites began to believe momentum was being gathered and Rodgers' side were making progress, they went and performed woefully and were deservedly defeated.

One step forward, two steps back seems an apt description of Liverpool's progress so far this season. It's innately frustrating for supporters but it appears an unavoidable aspect of re-building the club up from the ashes of Hicks, Gillett and Hodgson. 

All we can do is patiently wait for things to turn around and continue to wholeheartedly support the manager and players.

YNWA