Villa's issues are strikingly clear despite strong recent points return

VILLA fell to their first Premier League defeat in two months on Saturday night, losing 2-0 to Liverpool.

- By JOHN TOWNLEY

The Reds ended Villa’s four-match winning run in the competition as Mo Salah and Ryan Gravenberch scored either side of halftime.

Liverpool's opener was giftwrapped by Emi Martinez, who made a costly error trying to play out from the back - his misplaced pass fell straight to Salah, who made no mistake.

Gravenberch then doubled the lead before the hour mark when his deflected shot beat Martinez.

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Strong points haul, but a missed opportunity

Taking six points from the last three, including away matches at Tottenham and Liverpool - with a home clash against Manchester City in between - is a strong return.

However, Villa passed up an opportunity at Anfield on Saturday. Liverpool had lost six of their previous seven games in all competitions and were vulnerable.

Some Liverpool reporters claimed it was the best the Reds had played all season in the league, but if Villa had scored first, the story could have been very different.

Morgan Rogers came within inches of doing just that when his sixth-minute shot struck the post, while Matty Cash also hit the woodwork via a deflection 13 minutes later.

Villa have now lost at Anfield in each of the past three seasons, but they still went on to either qualify for the Champions League or narrowly miss out on the final day through goal difference last season.

It's nota result that will derail their campaign, but it was still a missed chance for a major boost - three points at Anfield would have extended Liverpool's struggles and lifted Villa’s own momentum.