Aston Villa back in Champions League as Ollie Watkins double sinks Liverpool

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Ollie Watkins scored twice after Virgil van Dijk had cancelled out Morgan Rogers’ brilliant, curling opener before Villa’s captain, John McGinn, completed the rout from the edge of the box. When Mamardashvili was too hasty in surging from goal without preserving the ball, Rogers looked to locate Watkins before Liverpool extinguished the danger.

Liverpool’s first effort courtesy of Joe Gomez, yet to score a career goal, sailed over the Villa bar. The galling thing for Liverpool was that it stemmed from a corner, a training-ground routine seemingly architected by Austin MacPhee, Villa’s set-piece coach whom Rogers embraced after curling the ball into the far top corner of Mamardashvili’s goal.

Presumably Slot had one particular statistic running through his mind as he headed down the tunnel: his side have failed to win any of their 13 away league games when trailing at half-time.Morgan Rogers (third left) curls the ball past Giorgi Mamardashvili to give Villa the lead. He slipped after receiving Milos Kerkez’s throw-in, Rogers was first on the scene and teed up Watkins who applied a clever finish.A rampant Watkins hunted for another goal, Mamardashvili saving well after Buendía released the England striker and it arrived with 73 minutes on the clock.