Steve Nicol is giving up hope that he can win the title. The time is 1:05.
At the end of a day when Manchester City made a dangerous new blockbuster addition for next season, the gamble on his own squad depth paid off to keepLiverpool in the premier league title race.
The acquisition of Erling Haaland is a reminder to City that they intend to set the pace in the future, but they also know they have to take the fight to the end.
Andy Robertson was given the night off, as were Mohamed Salah and Thiago Alcantara, and as a result, they were on the bench. Maintaining performance levels while chasing an unprecedented Quadruple is a fine balancing act.
I have known the boys a long time. If I asked them, they would say they could play, so I wouldn't ask. I have nothing else but watching football games and football players and, with all the things in mind, how could it work today?
It is not that easy with the boys who come on with not a lot of rhythm. In the moment when we started playing, he was involved in really good moments, because he came through a lot of pain everywhere. I thought it was time for Thiago to enter the half-spaces because we have to win the game. My job is to make decisions.
It was going to backfire as the replacement for Robertson collided with the other in the first three minutes as they tried to meet Lucas Digne. Douglas Luiz converted at the second attempt after Alisson saved his initial shot, after the melee leftJoel Matip and Douglas dead.
Matip replied immediately after Villa failed to deal with Trent Alexander-Arnold's free kick. After losing Fabinho to what appeared to be a hamstring injury -- testing that depth even further --Liverpool stepped it up after half-time and Luis Diaz crossed for Sadio Mane to glance a superb headed goal.
It had to be him. He has scored nine goals in ten games against Villa, five in five at Villa Park, and nobody has scored more times for the club since he joined at the end of January.
It was the 15th goal of the season for Mane, meaning that he has become only the second team in the history of the league to have three players reach that milestone in the same season. Villa were more threatening in the 18 minutes that Salah was here to keep himself busy with the FA Cup final.
Steve Nicol is giving up hope that he can win the title.
There were former Reds connections all over the place, with Steven Gerrard in the Villa dugout. There was no payback on Tuesday as the Brazilian had one of his more subdued evenings. Danny Ings threatened to wreck the title bid.
When Danny Ings beat Alisson with a low drive on 85 minutes, the flag was raised correctly because he lacked conviction when finding promising positions.
A chorus of disapproval was aimed at referee Jon Moss for a series of strange calls. He interrupted a question about Moss's performance before he said anything. I hope it is looked at. Told that Moss would be retiring at the end of the season, he replied: "Is he?" Good.
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