Liverpool moved into 8th position in the Premier League as they beat Aston Villa 3-0 behind goals from David Ngog, Ryan Babel and Maxi Rodriguez. The defeat sent former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier side to 16th place, only 2 points above the relegation zone.
Liverpool wrapped the game up with two early goals within three minutes of each other. First Martin Skrtel’s header from a corner kick was heading just wide of goal, but David Ngog dived to head it past goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
Three minutes later Liverpool wrapped up all three points when Lucas chipped a great pass forward to Babel who smashed a shot across Friedel and into the net.
Babel came close to scoring again but Maxi got the third in the 55th, with a right-foot shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Liverpool’s fifth straight home win leaves them only three points behind Spurs who are in 5th position and only 7 points out of a Champions League spot. A remarkable turnaround since it was not too long ago that Liverpool were in the bottom three of the table.
As expected Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson was thrilled after the win saying:
“The most pleasing aspect was the team performance. The shape was good throughout and we attacked and defended well. In every win, there are good individual performances. I have never written Ryan Babel off. His chances have been limited because we have David (Ngog) and Steven. The competition is fierce. But we have worked with him in training, he did well against Steaua Bucharest, so when Fernando was not able to play, I had no hesitation in picking him.”
