By Jude Summerfield
Two late strikes from substitute Jhon Duran helped Aston Villa earn a crucial point from two goals down against Liverpool on Monday night.
The Villans looked out of the contest at 3-1 down as Emiliano Martinez's own goal and efforts from Cody Gakpo and Jarell Quansah put the Reds in control.
However, Duran arrived off the bench to conjure up a brace and boost Villa's Champions League qualification hopes. They now sit five points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth.
How the game unfolded
Villa began Tuesday night knowing victory in either of their last two league games of the season will secure Champions League football, but instead they fell behind inside two minutes thanks to a major clanger from goalkeeper Martinez.
Harvey Elliott's driving run and one-two with Mohamed Salah ended with the English midfielder's cross deflecting off Ezri Konsa. The change in direction was enough to put the World Cup winner off balance and he ended up fumbling the ball into the back of his own net.
The sluggish start from the hosts continued when Salah glided past a lazy Lucas Digne and saw his curling effort stray just wide after a nick off Pau Torres.
Some goalmouth action which saw Gakpo hit the post meant little as the offside flag went up but Villa Park soon erupted as the hosts equalised.
An awesome run from Ollie Watkins saw the England striker get to the byline and pull back for Youri Tielemans, whose piercing strike whistled beyond Alisson's reach to make it 1-1.
That goal certainly lifted Villa's spirits but they were soon left deflated when the visiting Reds exposed more leaky defending. Luis Diaz slipped in Joe Gomez and his shot was palmed straight to Gakpo, who tapped in from close range. A lengthy VAR check ensued checking an offside but no infringement was found.
Unai Emery's side attempted to barge their way back onto level terms and came agonisingly close when Leon Bailey crossed towards Diego Carlos and Watkins. The defender made contact ahead of the striker but could somehow only nudge his effort wide.
Sloppy moments cost Villa dear as they headed into the break a goal down and things got even worse at the start of the second half. Elliott's wonderful free-kick picked out a free Quansah, who leapt highest and powered a header into the opposite top corner.
Villa might have drawn level but a mix-up saw the offside Bailey - who picked up possession ahead of the onside Diaby - cross for Watkins to convert. A VAR check eventually saw the effort chalked off. Watkins then back-heeled towards goal but Liverpool got bodies around the ball to clear.
Another off-field check saw a Salah strike disallowed for Diaz's offside before substitute Nicolo Zaniolo fired straight at Alisson when he should have done better.
Trent Alexander-Arnold forced a great stop out of Martinez from 25 yards and the denial proved crucial as Villa scored two goals in four minutes, both courtesy of Duran, to snatch a point.
Alexis Mac Allister's loose pass gave away possession and the Colombian striker struck a cracker into the bottom corner, handing Emery's outfit hope of nicking a late draw. That optimism soon became reality with a rather ridiculous sixth goal of the night.
The increasingly stretched game saw Diaby run through the middle and fire a pass towards Duran. The forward knew little about it as the ball ricocheted off his leg and looped over Alisson, bringing Villa back level at 3-3 as nine minutes of stoppage time were added.
One brilliant save from Alisson late on ensured no late winner arrived for Villa, who stole a point from 3-1 down to put the pressure firmly on Tottenham in the top-four race ahead of Tuesday's clash with Manchester City.
Aston Villa player ratings (4-4-2)
GK: Emiliano Martinez - 4/10 \- Horror mistake gifted Liverpool the lead with little more than a minute played. Made some better saves but was nervy throughout.
RB: Ezri Konsa - 5/10 \- Had plenty of difficulty dealing with the lively Diaz.
CB: Diego Carlos - 4/10 \- Quite errant positionally and missed a gilt-edged chance which might have cost Villa on another day.
CB: Pau Torres - 5/10 \- Also rather flimsy at the back but was probably the least sleepy of the back four.
LB: Lucas Digne - 4/10 \- Put up some pathetic defensive challenges and a little too loose on the ball.
RM: Leon Bailey - 7/10 \- Was dangerous throughout but just too wasteful to manage any sort of goal contribution.
CM: Youri Tielemans - 6/10 \- Slammed in the equaliser with a wonderful effort from the edge of the box. Couldn't deal effectively with Elliott in defence, however, and came off pretty early in the second half.
CM: Douglas Luiz - 5/10 \- Not a familiar performance from the Brazilian, who wasn't at the races against some fleet-footed opposition midfielders.
LM: John McGinn - 7/10 \- Bustled his way through proceedings and led from the front when the crowd needed a boost.
ST: Moussa Diaby - 7/10 \- Another whose final end ball wasn't quite there until he fired towards Duran for the fortuitous late equaliser.
ST: Ollie Watkins - 7/10 \- Great tenacity helped Watkins get the assist for Tielemans. Had a goal disallowed and didn't get as many chances as he would have liked.
Substitutes
Nicolo Zaniolo (65' for Tielemans) - 5/10 \- Missed a good chance and had to be replaced with an injury.
Jhon Duran (79' for Zaniolo) - 8/10 \- Showed the clinical touch his side lacked for the majority of the fixture. Great first strike merited a somewhat fortuitous second.
Calum Chambers (80' for Luiz) - 7/10 \- Grabbed the assist for Duran's first goal.
Subs not used: Clement Lenglet, Finley Munroe, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Omari Kellyman, Robin Olsen, Tim Iroegbunam.
Manager
Unai Emery - 7/10 \- His side looked so leggy but Emery's changes in the second half helped grab Villa an important point.
Liverpool player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Alisson - 6/10 \- Made a couple of impressive saves and had little chance with any of the three goals.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6/10 \- Popped up in midfield and played some incisive passes, but was also caught too high up the pitch at points.
CB: Jarell Quansah - 7/10 \- Beaten by Watkins when Tielemans fired in but did bag his first Premier League goal with a great header.
CB: Virgil van Dijk - 6/10 \- Had a few physical skirmishes with Villa players and wasn't always comfortable.
LB: Joe Gomez - 7/10 \- His shot led to Gakpo's strike and he was often efficiently mopping up loose ball at the back.
CM: Harvey Elliott - 7/10 \- Constantly buzzed around midfield to get Liverpool moving forward and delivered a wonderful cross to set up Quansah.
CM: Wataru Endo - 6/10 \- Struggled as the game wore on, with two electric attacks making the defensive midfielder's job pretty tiresome and difficult.
CM: Alexis Mac Allister - 4/10 \- Two misplaced passes led directly to Villa goals. Couldn't summon up any goal threat from midfield.
RW: Mohamed Salah - 6/10 \- Threatened in behind time and time again, though the ball just wouldn't settle for him.
ST: Cody Gakpo - 7/10 \- Led Liverpool's press pretty well and tucked in from close range to hand his side the lead.
LW: Luis Diaz - 6/10 \- Played his role in Gakpo's strike but needed to show some ruthlessness to earn a goal contribution.
Substitutes
Darwin Nunez (75' for Gakpo) - 6/10 \- Had a strike disallowed for offside.
Ryan Gravenberch (75' for Elliott) - 5/10
Curtis Jones (76' for Endo) - 5/10
Dominik Szoboszlai (76' for Diaz) - 5/10
Subs not used: Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konate, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Stefan Bajcetic.
Manager
Jurgen Klopp - 6/10 \- Liverpool made the best possible start and exposed Villa's weaknesses, but their own misgivings ended up costing them all three points.
Player of the match: Jhon Duran (Aston Villa)
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Aston Villa 3-3 Liverpool: Player ratings as late show earns Villans crucial point.
