The loss by Arsenal on Sunday hands the initiative to leaders and defending champions, Manchester City.
Browsing: Ollie Watkins
The result sent Villa into ninth in the table, leapfrogging Chelsea, who dropped into the bottom half.
The Canaries’ fate was sealed after goals from Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings, in conjunction with Burnley’s late comeback win over Watford, mean Dean Smith’s side can no longer escape the relegation zone.
The Gunners could even increase that gap with a game in hand over fifth-placed Manchester United and were well worthy of the three points against a toothless Villa despite the narrow scoreline.
Villa were victorious on Tuesday night, recording a 2-0 win at Norwich City, but Burnley saw their clash with Watford, scheduled for Wednesday, called off at the final moment due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Claudio Ranieri’s squad.
The English champions had lost their previous six games at Anfield and fell behind again when Alisson Becker failed to keep out Ollie Watkins’s first-half strike.
Bertrand Traore pounced on a loose pass by Cedric Soares and crossed to Watkins, whose first-time shot from a central position took a deflection off Rob Holding and squirmed into the net past Mat Ryan — an Arsenal debutant in goal.
First-half goals from Ollie Watkins and Bertrand Traore were enough for three points to lift them to eighth place in the English Premier League with 29 points after a coronavirus-enforced break.
It was a result which not only ended the champions’ 100 per cent start to the season, but also was a severe humbling.