Liverpool-Aston Villa Verdict: Forgotten Strikers, Resilient Defense Lead Reds To Win

Liverpool earned a milestone win over Aston Villa on Saturday, but it’s too soon to measure the true extent of the Reds’ revival.

Strikers Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert scored goals in each half, as Liverpool topped Aston Villa 2-0 at Villa Park. The win was Liverpool’s third consecutive triumph, marking the first time in 2014-15 that the Reds have won three straight. The result also extends Liverpool’s road winning streak to five games and its unbeaten streak in all competitions to eight.

The number suggests the Reds’ worst days of the 2014-15 season are behind them. However, far stiffer tests than Aston Villa posed lay ahead for the Reds, starting Tuesday when they face Premier League leader Chelsea in the first leg of the Capital One Cup (Football League Cup) semifinal.

Liverpool has profited from the resurgences of much-maligned or forgotten players in its last two game. Lazar Markovic scored the game-winner last weekend in the win over Sunderland. Borini and Lambert were the goal-scoring heroes against Aston Villa.

Borini opened the scoring in the 24th minute when he prodded a pinpoint cross from man-of-the-match Jordan Henderson past goalkeeper Brad Guzan. The goal was Borini’s first for Liverpool in the Premier League in nearly two years.

[tweet https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/556473699973750784 align=’center’%5D

Borini’s goal capped a stretch of the game that Liverpool dominated, but Lambert’s 79th-minute strike ended a 20-minute period in which the Reds were decidedly second-best. The second-half introductions of Andreas Weinmann and Carles Gil gave Aston Villa fresh impetus, and it looked like the Villans certainly would score their first goal in over five league games. Aston Villa created no less than six scoring chances between the 59th and 79th minute, but its misfiring players and Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet’s shot-stopping abilities kept the hosts off the board.

Lambert, who replaced Borini in the 71st minute, scored against the run of play with a clinical finish to the far post. The goal was Lambert’s second in league play and third in all competitions in 2014-15.

Lambert and Borini failed to establish themselves in the lineup during the disappointing first half of the campaign. They rediscovered their goal-scoring touch at the right time, and Liverpool will benefit from having two hungry strikers as it enters a defining period of the season. If Lambert and Borini carry their form through the end of the month, manager Brendan Rodgers won’t feel compelled to offer Daniel Sturridge too much playing time too soon, as he works his way back to fitness from long-term injury problems.

Liverpool’s attacking verve and defensive resilience have been hallmarks of its recent run of positive results. The Reds have won six and drawn two of their last eight games in all competitions, but their revival still is ongoing and incomplete. Liverpool is grinding out wins over teams who either reside in the bottom half of the Premier League or play in lower divisions. Liverpool would like to be blowing these teams away, but its performance levels remain some distance from the heady days of early 2014.

Nevertheless, it’s always better to pick up points while restoration work is being done than to leave them on the table, as Liverpool can attest.