Aston Villa v Liverpool: Live matchday blog
Sadio Mane's 94th-minute header earned Liverpool a dramatic 2-1 victory at Aston Villa. Trezeguet gave the hosts the lead midway through the first half before late interventions from Andy Robertson and Mane secured the three points in thrilling fashion.
Robertson reacts
The left-back tells Sky Sports: "We have showed our resilience over the last 18 months and this season we have kept on going.
"Today we knew we had some great chances and there’s nothing better than a last-minute winner."
Mane reaction
The match-winner tells Sky Sports: "Today was not our best performance but we deserved the three points.
"It was a perfect delivery from the corner and in the end I was even a bit lucky the ball went in."
Full Time
Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool
It's all over! What a late turnaround!
Sadio Mane's 94th-minute header has earned Liverpool the three points at Villa Park in dramatic fashion.
Trezeguet's first-half goal meant Villa led this game for the majority, but Andy Robertson's equaliser was then followed up by Mane's intervention right at the end.
What. A. Team.
Goal
GOALLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!! SADIO MANE!!!!!
Alexander-Arnold's close-range free-kick is deflected for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, Mane is there at the near post to flick a header into the far corner. The scenes in the away end.
Absolutely incredible.
Lovren glances a header just wide as five minutes of additional time are signalled.
Goal
GOAL!!! Andy Robertson!!!
Mane is searching for a target in the box from the right and spots the late run of his Scottish teammate. The left-back is there at the back post to deliver a powerful header beyond Heaton.
Get in!
Substitution
Keita is now on for Lallana in the Reds' final change.
Close!
Alexander-Arnold's left-footed strike on the edge of the box goes agonisingly past the post.
Yellow Card
El Ghazi picks up a caution for a tackle from behind on Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Van Dijk stops it from being 2-0 as he clears a threatening cutback from Hourihane.
Just wide!
Firmino does brilliantly to cut the ball back from the right touchline. It finds Lallana inside the area, but the midfielder glances his finish wide.
Close!
Mane advances towards Villa's area and attempts a curler that goes just over the bar.
Alexander-Arnold's whipped cross needs pushing out for a corner by Heaton. Origi then fires wide in the aftermath of the resulting set-piece.
Oxlade-Chamberlain tries three shots towards goal, but each of them are blocked by a Villa player.
Substitution
A double change for the Reds sees Origi and Oxlade-Chamberlain come on for Wijnaldum and Salah.
Salah heads over the crossbar after a spell of pressure.
Alexander-Arnold's chipped ball into the box finds Mane at the back stick. But the No.10's header towards goal is blocked by the onrushing Heaton.
Yellow Card
Van Dijk is booked for a foul on El Ghazi.
Salah cuts inside onto his left foot, but sends the ball way over Heaton's crossbar.
Wijnaldum and Mane both unleash efforts towards goal from outside the area, but Heaton saves both.
Firmino's shot from a Robertson cross is blocked by Mings for a corner, which Villa defend.
Kick-Off
Villa get the second half started.
Here's how Opta saw that opening 45 minutes...
Half Time
Aston Villa 1-0 Liverpool
It's half-time at Villa Park and the Reds are a goal down.
Trezeguet gave the hosts the lead in the 21st minute before Roberto Firmino thought he had levelled shortly after, only for the goal to be ruled out for an extremely close offside call.
A big second half needed!
Four minutes of first-half additional time have been added on...
The Reds launch a quick break through Salah, Mane and Firmino. Mane gets the ball close to the Villa goal and plays a pass to Salah, who eventually fires over.
Yellow Card
Mane goes into the book for apparent simulation.
McGinn starts a counter-attack and plays through El Ghazi, who sends a ball into the box. Trezeguet attempts to volley the cross at the back post, but ends up missin the ball.
Disallowed Goal
Firmino has the ball in the back of the net, but the flag is up for offside.
VAR makes another check and rules the No.9 was fractionally offside when Mane's cross was sent in.
Goal
Goal - Trezeguet
Villa take the lead. McGinn whips in a free-kick into box as Trezeguet meets it with his side-foot. Alisson attempts to save the shot with his legs, but the ball goes over the goalline.
There was a VAR check for offside, but the goal stands.
Van Dijk then finds Salah perfectly close to goal, with the Egyptian forcing Heaton into a save from a tight angle.
Close!
Mane puts a header just wide after Henderson's ball into the area. The visitors are enjoying more of the ball now following a bright start from Villa.
McGinn puts a cross into a dangerous area in the box. Wesley rises to meet it but the ball skims his head and flashes wide.
Henderson underhits a backpass and Trezeguet senses an opportunity in front of goal. However, Alisson is quick off his line to deal with the danger.
The hosts create the first chance of the match. El Ghazi advances into the box and hits a shot straight at Alisson.
Kick-Off
Henderson gets the game underway.
Come on Liverpool!
We're ready to go as both teams emerge from the tunnel...
U23s update
It's 1-1 at half-time in the mini derby down at the Academy this afternoon. Tony Gallacher put Liverpool ahead before Everton equalised close to the break.
Inside the away dressing room...
TEAM NEWS
Adam Lallana replaces Fabinho in the only alteration to Liverpool’s starting line-up from our last Premier League outing against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Naby Keita has recovered from a knock sustained in midweek and takes a place on the bench.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson, Lallana, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Subs: Adrian, Fabinho, Milner, Keita, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Origi.
Trent steps up...
...to handle our pre-match media interviews today.
Here's a reminder of today's other Premier League fixtures...
Weather
WEATHER UPDATE KLAXON
Here we go, dear reader. Here we go.
Liverpoolfc.com scrivener Glenn Price has just been pitchside to complete his pre-match weather checks, utilising our trusty thermometer.
It's showing a steady nine degrees and sources tell us that's unlikely to fluctuate between now and the final whistle.
However, there is a chance - a slim one, but a chance nevertheless - of some rain.
So we would suggest waterproof jackets for maximum comfort.
Stadium set
Villa Park is ready for the Reds' visit.
'It's matches like these that we're all in the business for'
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith is relishing the opportunity of his side locking horns with the champions of Europe.
Opening his programme notes, he writes: "This is undoubtedly a game that many supporters will have looked out for when the fixtures were released over the summer and it's matches like these that we're all in the business for.
"We have a marvellous opportunity to pit our wits against one of the top sides in Europe, if not the world, and we're relishing the challenges that today will bring."
Smith adds: "We're going to come up against a side today that is bristling with quality, so we know that our basics are going to have to be executed correctly and that our performance levels are up where we know they should be if we want to get something out of the game."
Six days ago
Liverpool maintained their pace at the Premier League summit with a comeback win over Tottenham at Anfield.
Relive the highlights of that clash below...
Three teams in action
It's a busy day across the club today, with LFC Women also in action at Aston Villa in an evening kick-off after the men's team get under way at 3pm GMT.
Closer to home, meanwhile, there's the small matter of the U23s mini-derby between the Reds and Everton at the Academy.
We'll keep you updated with all three matches on Liverpoolfc.com during the course of the day.
Stat attack
- Liverpool have scored more league goals in their history (323) against Villa than they have against any other team.
- On his last appearance at Villa Park, Divock Origi scored just 37 seconds after coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute.
- James Milner played 126 times for Villa and has scored in each of his two Liverpool appearances against his former club.
- The Reds have recorded more wins at Villa Park (13) than they have at any other away ground in the Premier League. They have won their last five league visits to Villa Park - a club record.
View from the opposition
We caught up with Aston Villa fan and writer Kevin Hughes to get the lowdown on Dean Smith's side.
He said: "There's a good feeling around the club right now, and Saturday is another sell-out at Villa Park.
"Generally, home form has been good; we lost to Bournemouth in August thanks to two silly mistakes in the first 15 minutes but other than that, we've beaten Everton and Brighton, and drawn with West Ham and Burnley. Of course, Liverpool will be the strongest opponents we've faced at home by some way."
Click here to read the full feature.
Klopp nominated
The boss has received a nomination for the Premier League Manager of the Month award for October.
You can cast a vote for him now by clicking here.
Missing Men
Can you remember Liverpool's starting XI on the day they opened the 2007-08 season with a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa?
The game was decided by a stunning Steven Gerrard free-kick in the 87th minute. Click the graphic to reveal the answers...
Did you know?
Trent Alexander-Arnold can become the fourth-youngest player to reach 100 appearances for Liverpool in the club's history this afternoon.
Here's how the table looks ahead of the Reds' 11th fixture in the competition...
Last time out
Have you recovered from Wednesday night yet? Check out the highlights from Liverpool's unforgettable Carabao Cup victory over Arsenal at Anfield in the video below...
Team news
The teamsheets will land at 2pm GMT but we do already know Liverpool will be without Joel Matip and Xherdan Shaqiri due to injury.
The Reds need to check on the fitness of Naby Keita after the midfielder picked up a knock during Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with Arsenal, while Mohamed Salah should be OK according to the manager.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, are hopeful Jack Grealish is fit to feature, having suffered a calf issue last weekend.
Keinan Davis is ruled out due to a hamstring injury, while Jota is also set to miss out as he continues to recover from a hernia operation.
Press conference
Jürgen Klopp took questions from journalists at Melwood yesterday afternoon to preview this encounter. See what the boss had to say in the video below...
Back to it!
Good morning and welcome to Liverpoolfc.com's matchday blog for our trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League.
It's the Reds' first visit to Villa Park in three seasons and you can follow the best of the build-up, action and reaction right here.
