A Liverpool that has retained the 100% record when it comes to the Champions League is faced by an Aston Villa side who extended their European winning run only to lose in rather freakish manner in the Premier League game on Saturday.
While Arne Slot’s side devastated Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 in the midweek, the Lions were shocked 1-0 by hosts Club Brugge whose solitary penalty was scored via one of the most embarrassing fouls one could imagine.
Accepting the man whom Liverpool fans were clamouring for as the successor to Jurgen Klopp, Slot made Leverkusen’s chief and 2005 Champions League winner, Xabi Alonso taste football’s bitter pill on Tuesday evening, all supported by a fascinating Colombian.
In fact, Luis Diaz broke the Bundesliga champions backline three times at Anfield albeit in a losing effort and Cody Gakpo marked his first Champions League goal as red lights went up during bonfire night which saw Liverpool open up a two-point lead at the top of the Champions League group.
Liverpool maintained their perfect start at the top of the table both continentally and domestically, capitalising on slip-ups from Arsenal and Manchester City in Premier League gameweek 10 to come from behind to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 and extend their lead at the summit to two points over the champions.
Whereas some may have expected another Man City and Arsenal fight in the Premier League, Slot has suddenly brought up Liverpool right into the fight, breaking record after record, and recently surpassing Mourinho and Ancelotti in one special area.
The victory over Leverkusen marked the sixth consecutive home win in all competitions for the Reds who have netted at least two goals in all of those victories – and last weekend’s win over Brighton showed how they came from behind to record their first ever Premier League win number 100.
After showing off their skills against BSC Young Boys, Bayern Munich, and Bologna before taking on another "B" team, if you will, in Club Brugge, Aston Villa was looking down on the other 35 teams in Europe's top league when Champions League matchweek four began.
After a cagey first half in which neither goalie had to pull the ball out of the net, Villa captain Tyrone Mings had an insane moment when he picked it up after Emiliano Martinez had taken a goal kick, which the Brugge players were unaware of.
Following their elimination from the EFL Cup by Crystal Palace and their 4-1 top-flight thrashing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Villa suffered their third straight loss in all competitions when Hans Vanaken converted the hilarious penalty kick to condemn them to their first European defeat of the 2024–25 season.
Villa, one of three clubs with 18 points, is in sixth place due to a worse goal differential than Arsenal and Chelsea. The Lions haven't defeated a top-two Premier League team away from home in over 25 years, with their most recent victory coming against Leeds United in January 2000.
Villa has lost their previous nine away games against clubs in the top two Premier League rankings, and they have lost eight straight games against Liverpool in all competitions, including the thrilling 3–3 draw at Villa Park in May.
As far as Liverpool's injury situation is concerned, none of Diogo Jota (abdominal), Alisson Becker (thigh), Federico Chiesa (fitness), or Harvey Elliott (foot) will return to duty prior to the international break.
The South American may now return to left-wing duties as a rested Darwin Nunez returns to the attack. Slot did not hesitate to make some bold tactical choices on Tuesday night, most notably deploying hat-trick hero Diaz down the middle.
