Independent
There was no happy homecoming for Steven Gerrard, no “celebrating like a crazy devil,” no narratives feeding into future ambitions. The man he termed “100 per cent the best player in the world now” saw to that, firing in a low, hard penalty to further Liverpool’s title fight.
Mohamed Salah’s direct goal contribution ticked over to 14 consecutive league games, his 67th-minute winner deflating an Aston Villa side that departed without a shot on target.
The task was not to make it easy for Liverpool, but Gerrard’s men didn’t figure it would be this hard to conjure threat of their own.
The scoreline belied a story of enterprise versus total obstruction, with substitute Diogo Jota missing a glorious chance late on to make that more clear.
Perhaps the only piece of the occasion Gerrard enjoyed was the pre-match niceties.
Fresh out of the tunnel, there was warm applause – first to the away end and then to acknowledge the welcome from the supporters that he was one of, that became his. There was a slight glance over at The Kop; not too long, not too lustful, just enough to take it in and breathe it all out.
From the moment Gerrard had scanned the fixture list while in talks to become Aston Villa manager, he knew right here would be the challenge: Jurgen Klopp’s free-scoring title contenders at Anfield.
Liverpool as the opponent for the first time in his life. There was a hug with Klopp and handshakes with Pep Lijnders before the whistle signalled a switch to battle mode. In persistent rain, the opening half was a tale of snappish tackles and plenty of Villa time-wasting.
It seemed peculiar for Gerrard to adopt a tactic that coloured his darkest day on this very ground: the slip and sayonara to becoming a Premier League title winner – yet it did the job of ruffling Liverpool’s rhythm and…
