Final, 2-0 Liverpool: It’s all over at Villa Park. The Reds win.
Liverpool is celebrating three hard-earned, but deserved, points following Saturday’s win over Aston Villa. Borini and Lambert’s goals highlighted a performance in which the Reds shined and frustrated for pockets of the game. The Reds cruised in the first half, but Aston Villa put them under intense pressure in the second period. The Reds’ newly found resilience ultimately paid dividends, as they doubled their lead late and kept the hosts off the scoreboard.
Liverpool now has won three straight games — for the first time in 2014-15 — and are unbeaten in eight. The Reds are building momentum but stay in eighth place in the Premier League standings.
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Postgame analysis of Liverpool-Aston Villa >>
94th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Delph fires a shot on goal from distance, but it goes straight to Mignolet.
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94th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Ibe cuts back a pass from the byline to Coutinho, but the ball bounces off the Brazilian’s foot and goes out of play.
90th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: There will be a minimum of four minutes of added time in the second half.
84th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Liverpool makes its final substitution, as Ibe replaces Sterling.
Liverpool recalled Ibe from his loan spell at Championship (second division) club Derby County this week. Ibe makes just his fourth appearance for Liverpool’s first team.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa looks deflated after conceding the second goal. The home team was playing so well for 20 minutes, but the Reds punished them for a giveaway in the midfield.
80th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: The referee cautions Lambert for an over-exuberant goal celebration.
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79th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Lambert scores with a well-placed shot to the far post. The Reds lead by two.
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78th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Lucas hits a low, curling drive from 25 yards out, but Guzan makes another fine save.
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75th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Guzan stops Lambert’s tame cross, after Markovic set up the Liverpool striker with a clever back-heel pass.
73rd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Benteke heads Gil’s corner kick wide of Mignolet’s goal.
Aston Villa continues to threaten the Reds here in the second half.
71st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: There’s another personnel change for Liverpool. Enrique enters. Moreno departs.
71st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Lambert replaces Borini, as Liverpool makes its first substitution.
70th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Benteke misses the target with a scissor kick.
69th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Baker whiffs on a shot. He surely would have scored if he connected with the ball.
67th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Baker heads a corner kick over the crossbar.
66th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Gil nearly ties the game with a well-worked one-two, but Henderson clears it out for a corner kick before Gil can shoot.
Aston Villa has outplayed Liverpool since Lambert made the two substitutions.
64th minute, 1-0 Liverpool:Â Moreno cuts a pass back to Borini, but the Liverpool striker misses the target from close range.
61st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Mignolet makes a fine double save. Benteke spins and shoots powerfully to the near post. Mignolet saves it, recovers, and punches Weinmann’s ensuing header.
59th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Aston Villa makes a double substitution. Gil and Weinmann replace Westwood and Cleverley.
53rd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Sterling is down in pain after Sanchez kicked him in the face.
The blow obviously was a painful one, but Sterling will be able to continue.
52nd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The referee cautions Okore for a hard foul on Sterling.
50th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Skrtel heads Henderson’s corner kick to Guzan, who scuffs a shot from close range. Guzan does well to save it, and an offside call ends the subsequent danger.
49th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Borini lines up a shot from inside Aston Villa’s penalty area, but Baker tackles the ball away before the Liverpool striker can strike it.
46th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The second half is underway at Villa Park.
Halftime, 1-0 Liverpool: The first half is over. The Reds lead by one.
Borini’s goal gave Liverpool the lead it deserved based on its control of the ball and territorial advantage. The Reds were more positive and inventive than the goal-shy Villans throughout the opening period, and Borini provided the cutting edge the Reds need in the final third. Liverpool will be disappointed not to lead by more than one.
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Lucas, Can and Sakho were the rocks on which Liverpool’s defense stood firm in the first half. Their positioning and timely interventions helped the Reds endure those nervous moments at the back.
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45th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: There will be one minute of added time in the first half.
42nd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Cleverley collects Westwood’s pass on the left but misses the target with a shot from close range. Aston Villa is playing better at the end of the first half than it did in the beginning.
40th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Sanchez surprisingly shoots on goal from distance. The shot swerves, but Mignolet stops saves it anyway.
38th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Sterling races in on Guzan. The Liverpool forward is one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he boldly tries to chip his shot over the goalkeeper, who catches it easily.
38th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Borini turns and fires a shot well into the stands.
31st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Coutinho heads Markovic’s cross on goal, but Guzan stops it on the bounce.
24th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Borini stabs home Henderson’s cross, and the Reds lead at Villa park.
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The goal came from a throw-in. Henderson collected a pass, turned and whipped a cross into the Aston Villa penalty area. Aston Villa thought Borini was offside, but he timed his run well and volleyed a shot past Guzan.
It’s Borini’s first goal in 2014-15.
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Liverpool has been threatening to create the breakthrough. Borini has given the Reds what they were looking for.
20th minute, 0-0: Moreno sends a well-weighted pass into Aston Villa’s penalty area for Sterling, but Guzan races off his line and intercepts it.
17th minute, 0-0: Moreno thinks he has scored, but the referee’s assistant rules the Liverpool fullback offside.
17th minute, 0-0:Â Hutton crosses from deep, and Benteke rises and heads it on goal. Mignolet positioned himself well and catches Benteke’s header easily.
15th minute, 0-0: The first quarter-hour has been tight and competitive, as the teams deny each other space win the midfield. Liverpool has been effective when it passes directly to forwards Sterling and Borini, but the final ball has been missing so far.
Aston Villa has threatened from wide areas and set pieces early on.
Seventh minute, 0-0: Mingolet reacts quickly after Skrtel’s sliced clearance attempt falls dangerously in the Reds’ goal mouth.
Fourth minute, 0-0: Baker heads Westwood’s free kick wide of Mignolet’s goal.
Second  minute, 0-0: Coutinho volleys a corner kick wide of Guzan’s goal, as Liverpool applies early pressure.
Kickoff: Liverpool-Aston Villa is underway at Villa Park.
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Pregame:  Sterling starts up front for Liverpool after a two-game hiatus. Rodgers liked what he saw from Sterling in practice this week.
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Rodgers continues with the back three of Can, Skrtel and Sakho, while Moreno and Markovic will play hybrid wing-back/wide midfielder roles.
Borini starts for the second game in a row. Borini set up Lazar Markovic’s game-winning goal against Sunderland last weekend. Rodgers has rewarded Borini with another start.
American goalkeeper Brad Guzan Aston Villa attempts to stifle Liverpool as he did in the Villans’ 1-0 win over the Reds in September.
Aston Villa will be difficult break down in the midfield, as Delph, Sanchez, Cleverley and Westwood all are full of industry.
Liverpool’s defenders will keep an eye on the dangerous Benteke and Agbonlahor, who will try to exploit the spaces underneath the Belgian striker.
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9:30 a.m.: Here are the lineups:
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet (22), goalkeeper
Emre Can (23), center back
Martin Skrtel (37), center back
Mamadou Sakho (17), center back
Alberto Moreno (18), midfielder
Lazar Markovic (50), midfielder
Lucas Leiva (21), midfielder
Jordan Henderson (14), midfielder
Philippe Coutinho (10), forward
Raheem Sterling (31), forward
Fabio Borini (29), striker
Substitutes
Danny Ward (52), goalkeeper
Jose Enrique (3), defender
Javier Manquillo (19), defender
Jordan Williams (49), midfielder
Adam Lallana (20), midfielder
Jordon Ibe (33), forward
Rickie Lambert (9), striker
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Aston Villa
Brad Guzan (1), goalkeeper
Aly Cissokho (23), left back
Jores Okore (5), center back
Nathan Baker (23), center back
Alan Hutton (21), right back
Carlos Sanchez (24), midfielder
Ashley Westwood (15), midfielder
Fabian Delph (16), midfielder
Tom Cleverley (8), midfielder
Gabriel Agbonlahor (11), forward
Christian Benteke (20), striker
Substitutes
Shay Given (31), goalkeeper
Matthew Lowton (31), defender
Leandro Bacuna (7), midfielder
Kieran Richardson (18), midfielder
Carles Gil (25), midfielder
Charles N’Zogbia (28), midfielder
Andreas Weinmann (10), forward
9 a.m. ET: The third time hasn’t been a charm for Liverpool in 2014-15.
Liverpool can mount a three-game winning streak for the first time this season if it defeats Aston Villa on Saturday in a Premier League game at Villa Park. The Reds’ performances and results are showing signs of improvement, and reaching that elusive a three-game winning run will confirm their revival ahead of a busy period in the season.
Struggling Aston Villa presents a good opportunity for the Reds to extend their positive form. The Villans sit 13th in the Premier League standings with 22 points after 21 games. Aston Villa is by far the lowest scoring team in the league, but its defense is one of the stingiest. Paul Lambert’s team hasn’t won in its last six league games, and the Aston Villa manager faces mounting criticism and pressure from his own fans.
Liverpool currently occupies eighth place in the standings with 32 points from 21 games. The Reds are unbeaten in their last seven games (in all competitions) and only have lost once in their last 13 outings. Brendan Rodgers deftly managed his squad through the festive period. Raheem Sterling’s return from vacation in Jamaica will make the Reds’ attack more potent. If Adam Lallana and Steven Gerrard make early recoveries from injury, the Reds will be galvanized further going forward.
Liverpool has won its last four road games. A fifth-straight road victory will help the Reds close the gap between them and other contenders for a top-four finish.
They are unbeaten in the last seven games in all competitions and have lost only one of the last 13 in league and cup.
Liverpool-Aston Villa kicks off at 10 a.m. Join us right here for all the action from Villa Park.
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Photo via LiverpoolFC.com
