Five key talking points as Aston Villa rallies in a thrilling match and Liverpool blows a victory

On Monday night, Liverpool and Aston Villa drew 3-3 in the Premier League.

After Emiliano Martinez’s own goal, which Youri Tielemans cancelled out, and goals by Cody Gakpo and Jarell Quansah, the Reds took a 3-1 lead late in the game.

But in the last five minutes, a fast double from Jhon Duran, the substitute, gave the home team a point. In just two minutes, Liverpool got off to the ideal start of the night thanks to an own goal by Martinez.

Harvey Elliott raced into the box to deliver from the right and saw his cross ricochet into the net after the home goalie was unable to gather. It was the opening assault of the game for either team.

The Reds had a lot of early play, and Mohamed Salah and Gakpo both had close calls. But in the twelfth minute, Ollie Watkins broke through Liverpool’s right to find his teammate inside the box, and Tielemans gave the hosts a point.

Then, for Unai Emery’s team, Leon Bailey got near twice; the first attempt was blocked, and the second was a half-volley on the spin in the box. But it was a superb counterattack by the visitors that increased the score next.

After smart build-up from both Salah and Luis Diaz, Gakpo scored from Gomez’s low ball into the six-yard box. An extensive VAR offside check was necessary to validate the on-field determination.

Bailey’s low ball across the goal was missed by Diego Carlos, but Villa rallied and had a chance to tie the score shortly after.