Quick as a whip
Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa gave a good account of themselves, at Anfield, but still left empty-handed.
Villa caused Liverpool a few problems but lost 1-0 after Mo Salah converted a penalty he won when he was bundled over by Tyrone Mings. The visitors felt they could have had a spot-kick given when Danny Ings went down in the box, but the referee waved away those claims.
The match was the first time Gerrard, the former Liverpool captain, returned to Anfield as a manager in the Premier League. It was only his third game in charge of Villa, for whom he left Rangers for after Dean Smith was moved on.
“The penalty was a bit of a road block for us,” Gerrard told Sky Sports after the game. “I’m disappointed that the referee hasn’t at least had a look at it [on the monitor]. We feel a bit hard done by.” On his managerial return to Merseyside, he said:
“I understand that there was going to be some noise around the game. People appreciate the bond I still have with Liverpool and the fans, but that’s normal because I had so many years here.
“My job moving forward is to strive to match the teams at the top while beating the teams we should be going toe to toe with. There are many things we can improve.”
Gerrard also spoke with DAZN after Villa’s defeat, and had a memorable interaction with former Liverpool teammate Michael Owen.
Arguably Liverpool’s greatest ever player returns to Anfield today.
A special occasion and one I’m looking forward to covering on the @premierleague world feed. pic.twitter.com/bUtlCFpnd0— Michael Owen (@themichaelowen) December 11, 2021
Steven Gerrard burns Michael Owen
While Gerrard played dedicated all of his career but a brief spell with LA Galaxy with Liverpool, Owen had spells with Real Madrid, Newcastle, Stoke and, controversially, Manchester United after he left Anfield in 2004.
“I must admit,” Michael Owen admitted, “I hated going back to play against Liverpool. What were your emotions like going back home?”
Standing pitch-side at Anfield, Steven Gerrard could not resist.
“If I’d have played for Man U, I’d have hated coming back as well!”
The answer brought a broad ripple of laughs back in the studio, and from Robbie Fowler, who was interviewing Gerrard.
Once a Red…
