New Salah record, Nunez horror show and title verdict - 7 Liverpool talking points vs Aston Villa

Yahoo

19-02-2025

Liverpool dropped points in the title race on Wednesday night but may not be too disappointed to come away from Villa Park with a hard-fought 2-2 draw.
Mohamed Salah was on the scoresheet in the first half before Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins gave Aston Villa the lead before the break. The Reds fought back in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw thanks to Trent Alexander-Arnold's deflected goal, but had to hold on at the end as Villa pushed to find a winner.
Here are seven major talking points spotted by Liverpool.com.
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Let's get to the biggest point - this leaves Liverpool eight points clear of Arsenal in the battle for first place, but, crucially, the Gunners now have played a game extra. In a way it's a dent in Liverpool's pursuit of the title but eight points is still a massive lead for Arne Slot's side and gives Arsenal a huge deficit to catch even if it wins the match in hand.
Who had Curtis Jones out left in their predicted XI? Well, that's exactly where the midfielder started at Villa Park, three days on from finishing in that role against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Explaining the decision beforehand to TNT Sports, Slot said: "It is more to do with what happened last week. Lucho played Saturday his third game [in a week] because I decided to play him against Plymouth because I knew Cody [Gakpo] was fit. But with Cody being out, Lucho had to play three games in seven days. And today again and Sunday again, and Wednesday again."
The selection does raise questions about Federico Chiesa's position at Liverpool. That Slot opted to start with a midfielder in that role is in many ways a damning indictment of where the Italian international fits into his plans. Darwin Nunez also being left out of the XI for both matches against Wolves and Villa also raises questions about his long-term role.
Of course he does. Salah's goal against Villa was his 15th away from home in the Premier League ,eclipsing Luis Suarez's previous record. The ex-Red netted 14 on the road in the 2013/14 campaign under Brendan Rodgers. Impressively, Salah still has five matches to add to that record-breaking tally this term. He also grabbed the assist for Liverpool's equalizer in the second period.
After again being left out again by Slot, Nunez wanted to show his worth when introduced off the bench. Within minutes of coming ion, the striker had the chance to net a possible winner when the ball was squared to the 25-year-old from just a few yards out. But, steaming in at the back post, Nunez fired high and wide in another high-profile miss from the Uruguayan.
Trent Alexander-Arnold started the game brilliantly with superb passes into Virgil van Dijk and Diogo Jota to set up shooting chances within the first six minutes. However, it was a more testing night on the defensive front with the vast majority of Villa's chances coming down its left. In particular, Marcus Rashford, who Alexander-Arnold has had several battles with over the years, looked sharp with his dynamic movement and interplay.
Liverpool's no.10 was in full pantomime villain mode at the home of the Villans. Mac Allister was involved in a coming together with Axel Disasi midway through the first half and had to receive on-field treatment. The Liverpool midfielder then won two cute fouls off Andres Garcia and Youri Tielemans to further infuriate the home supporters before he tripped Marcus Rashford to give away an obvious free-kick. He was roundly booed by the home fans as he took a corner in the second period, and thoroughly got under their skin.
Harvey Elliott was once again named among the substitutes at Villa Park and enjoyed a more leisurely warm-up than those starting. He was the last Liverpool player to leave the pitch ahead of kick-off and showed off his skills with the ball in front of the Villa fans.
There was some joking, good-natured words shared between Elliott and the supporters, before the former threw the new Premier League ball into the crowd for the fan to have. Sadly, the security staff standing a few yards away was in a less hospitable mood and had to grudgingly ask for it back - but it was a humorous none the less.