The visitors Aston Villa certainly gave Liverpool a tough game as they went 2-0 up after 36 minutes through Andreas Weimann and then Christian Benteke. But Daniel Sturridge scored just on half time to give the home side some encouragement in the second half. Liverpool looked more lively in the second half and were awarded a penalty when Suarez went down in the 52nd minute. Gerrard converted to level the scores and it remained 2-2 up to the final whistle, leaving Liverpool in fourth, 3 points behind Chelsea.
Liverpool manager, Brenden Rodgers’ reaction: “We just couldn’t get going in the first half. We changed the system after the first goal. I felt we couldn’t get any flow. The second half we showed great spirit and got the equaliser.
“You have to give credit to Aston Villa. Christian Benteke was a real threat and Andreas Weimann was a problem. It wasn’t until we changed it around that we got a foothold in the game.
“It is a mark of the mentality that we were not at our best but we still dig out a result. We will learn from it and move on.
“It was vital to get that goal before half time. That gave us the spark going into the second half. The response from the players was outstanding.”
Aston Villa boss, Paul Lambert’s reaction: “We should have had three or four goals in the first half. We were fantastic, really good. We came here last year and won 3-1 and I thought we played a lot better today. In the first half we were outstanding.
“Their goal gave them a lifeline going into half-time. I am not so sure about the penalty, I think Brad Guzan has pulled his arms away. I don’t think it is a penalty. With the magnitude of the game you have to be 100% sure, Brad’s arms have been pulled away.
“I don’t think we could have done any more except win the game. There were major plus points, Nearly every player was outstanding.”
By Phil Wellbrook
