Liverpool - Anfield Stadium
Liverpool - Anfield Stadium
Liverpool players match ratings vs Aston Villa: A night everything fell apart
Liverpool players match ratings vs Aston Villa tell a story that Arne Slot and his squad will want to forget quickly, and they almost certainly cannot afford to. Villa Park, 15 May 2026: a full house of 43,033 witnessed Ollie Watkins score twice, Morgan Rogers curl in a beauty, and John McGinn cap the rout with a last-minute curler as Aston Villa beat the Reds 4–2 in a result that tightens the screw on Liverpool’s top-four ambitions. Van Dijk grabbed two headers to save a bit of face, but the damage was already done long before stoppage time arrived.
Starting XI
Giorgi Mamardashvili — 5/10. The Georgian stopper had little chance with Rogers’ precise opener or McGinn’s curler, and he made several decent stops throughout the night. His sharp block to deny Watkins in the opening minutes showed good alertness. However, he looked shaky for Watkins’ second on 73 minutes, when he could only parry Tielemans’ initial shot into the path of the Villa striker, who pounced on the rebound. He has had a solid season overall, but the sheer chaos in front of him made it impossible to keep things steady in goal.
Joe Gomez — 4/10. Gomez started at right-back and found it incredibly tough to cope with the pace and clever movement of Villa’s left flank. Rogers constantly pulled out into the spaces Gomez was supposed to protect, and the opening goal originated down Lucas Digne’s side, yet Gomez failed to track the corner routine or see the danger coming. Getting hooked for Florian Wirtz in the second half summed up a miserable night, leaving Slot with no option but to completely rip up his tactical blueprint.
Ibrahima Konaté — 5/10. The Frenchman fought hard and won plenty of headers, but the defensive line around him just kept breaking down. He was left completely exposed for Watkins’ first goal on 57 minutes after a Szoboszlai slip gifted the ball straight to Rogers, who picked out Watkins in open space. Konaté deserves some points for keeping his head up after that setback, even if the final scoreline does not reflect his individual work rate.
Virgil van Dijk — 7/10. The captain was comfortably Liverpool’s standout performer and the only player who could leave Birmingham with any real dignity. He powered home Szoboszlai’s free-kick on 52 minutes to make it 1–1, then grabbed a second from a deep ball in added time to bring the score to 4–2. His strength in the air provided Liverpool’s only bright spots, and he went toe-to-toe with Watkins all night, even though the striker won the overall battle. Leading by example in a heavy defeat matters, but scoring twice in a 4–2 loss still hurts.
Milos Kerkez — 5/10. The Hungarian left-back showed plenty of energy early on and looked eager to get forward, but Villa repeatedly exploited the empty space behind him in the second half. He chased Rogers for long periods, but the English winger’s clever positioning made life a constant headache. Kerkez drew a late foul from McGinn, showing he was at least still trying to spark a reaction when the game had completely gotten away from Liverpool.
Ryan Gravenberch — 5/10. The Dutch midfielder put in the yards during the first half but failed to stamp his authority on the game the way he does at his best. Chiesa and Wirtz replaced Gravenberch and Gomez after the break, a double change that made Slot’s frustration with his central midfield glaringly obvious. Gravenberch turned over possession far too easily in dangerous positions, giving McGinn and Tielemans complete freedom to dictate play.
Alexis Mac Allister — 5/10. The Argentine ran himself into the ground with nothing to show for it, sending a close-range header wide from a Szoboszlai corner around the 35-minute mark. He put together some smart pressing sequences, but Villa simply bypassed Liverpool’s midfield on the counter-attack the second Rogers picked up the ball. Mac Allister cannot carry the creative workload alone, and he had zero support on a night where nobody else stepped up to help him.
Curtis Jones — 4/10. Stations on the right side of the front three, Jones had an incredibly quiet and ineffective game. His hopeful lob in the 30th minute found nobody, and his attacking threat faded completely once Villa realised they did not need to worry about his runs out wide. NBC Sports pointed out a total lack of bite from Liverpool’s flanks, and Jones was the clearest example of that problem in the starting lineup.
Dominik Szoboszlai — 4/10. The Hungarian’s night unravelled painfully. His 57th-minute slip gave Rogers a free run at goal, who then set up Watkins to net Villa’s second and effectively kill off the match. It was a shame because Szoboszlai had delivered some dangerous set-pieces earlier, including the assist for Van Dijk’s first goal. Unfortunately, that costly slip is all anyone will remember from this game, ruining Liverpool’s hopes at a crucial moment.
Cody Gakpo — 4/10. The Dutchman showed a few bright moments, including a clinical finish that was ruled out for offside in the 25th minute, but that disallowed goal was as good as it got for him. Gakpo was starved of service and spent long stretches of the match completely anonymous. When Salah came on to replace him after Villa’s fourth goal, nobody was surprised.
Rio Ngumoha — 5/10. The teenager struck the woodwork right when Liverpool looked like mounting a real comeback, a moment that felt incredibly cruel. Ngumoha played with fearlessness and looked like Liverpool’s most creative attacking outlet during the first half, even if his final ball still needs work at this level. He kept working hard and chasing lost causes even as Villa racked up the goals; for a young player getting a taste of how brutal the Premier League can be, that work ethic bodes well for the future.
Substitutes — too little, far too late
Florian Wirtz — 5/10. Came on for Gomez as part of a tactical reshuffle that completely altered Liverpool’s shape. Wirtz saw an early cross blocked and forced a routine save from Martinez from a tight angle. He showed plenty of willingness, but he walked straight into a match where Villa’s defense was already completely locked in. He and his fellow substitutes simply could not find the keys to unlock a settled backline.
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Federico Chiesa — 5/10. The Italian caught a volley sweetly from a tight angle only for Martinez to rush out and smother the danger, a moment that perfectly summed up a brief appearance where effort outran opportunity. Chiesa injected some desperate directness and physical energy into the frontline, but by the time he entered the pitch, Villa were content to just manage the game and see out the clock.
Mohamed Salah — 5/10. Salah came off the bench for Gakpo with Villa already 4–1 up and the points secured. He looked sharp with his touches and caused a moment of panic in the Villa defence, but even a fresh Salah cannot turn a game around when the backline has leaked four goals. His brief cameo changed nothing on the pitch, other than serving as a glaring reminder of what Liverpool threw away by keeping him on the bench.
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Manager verdict
Arne Slot — 4/10. The Dutchman’s tactical blueprint and team selection fell apart under Villa’s intense pressure. Keeping Salah and Wirtz on the bench at a ground as tough as Villa Park, with Champions League qualification on the line, is completely inexplicable, and his changes came far too late to influence the game. Slot warned before kickoff about dropping cheap points on the road, only to watch his team do exactly that.