I was quite happy with the formation and side picked - with the obvious exception of the execrable Cissokho - but it was clear very early on that Coutinho and Sterling were not going to drop into central midfield areas enough, and as such, Gerrard and Henderson were overrun.
Another massive factor is again the defence. We can't afford to carry Toure and Cissokho, and we badly need Enrique, Sakho and Agger back. Mignolet is also having a shocking run of form and is costing us a goal every game at the moment. He should be dropped, but we have no backup because Jones is useless.
If anything, it simply reinforced where we need to strengthen: midfield. But we won't.
Ratings:
Mignolet (3). Horrible, flappy display and yet another comical goal conceded. Much more of this and we'll be back in the market for a keeper this summer.
Cissokho (2). Cumbersome, useless tw*t; hapless in attack and worse in defence. We've had some truly
Toure (4). Looked very much a squad player
Skrtel (7). Did his best to hold together the defence and it is to his credit that we didn't concede more goals with Mignolet, Cissokho and Toure giving him next to no help.
Johnson (6). Always an outlet in attack and made several good runs. Not enough end product.
Gerrard (6). Awful display in the first half, with Villa all over him. Much improved in the second with yet another nerveless penalty and some quite wonderful passing. Needs robust support from his midfield partners, though.
Henderson (6). Not great in the first half, when his energetic buzzing was like a fly - always in the background and annoying, but unlike a wasp, never any danger of stinging anyone. Good display in the second when there were more bodies in CM, great effort well saved by Guzan.
Coutinho (5). Our most creative player didn't craete much and was hooked at halftime.
Sterling (6). Very industrious and always showed for the ball. Kicked around a lot.
Suarez (7). Quiet by his standards, but still got a pen and created havoc.
Sturridge (7). Great finish from an inspired Henderson flick. Will get even better.
Subs: Lucas (5). Only on for 20 minutes but the extra body made all the difference. Ditto Allen.
Logged