Ryan Babel helped to ensure that Gerard Houllier's Anfield return ended in disappointment as Liverpool eased to a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa on Monday night.
The Dutch striker came in for the missing Fernando Torres and capped an impressive showing with the killer second goal as the Reds bounced back from last week's frustrating defeat at Spurs.
The No.19's clinical drive came straight after David Ngog's diving header had given the hosts a 14th minute lead and helped secure a win that has propelled Roy Hodgson's men up to eighth in the table, seven points adrift of Manchester City in fourth spot.
Maxi Rodriguez then put the seal on a solid all-round showing when he netted the third of the night by guiding home Ngog's cut back on 55 minutes.
The pre-match chatter had been firmly focused upon Houllier's first L4 experience as an opposition manager but as the team news filtered through, the spotlight shifted towards Babel, who was named in the side in place of Torres.
The Spaniard had withdrawn from duty after it emerged that his wife had gone into labour, providing the Dutchman with another chance to show what he could do in a much-craved striking role.
The former Ajax man looked up for the occasion too, but it wasn't just him who had the bit between his teeth. There was an energy to Liverpool's play right from the word 'go' and they could have been ahead inside two minutes when a Raul Meireles free-kick from the right caused chaos in the Villans' penalty area.
The visitors failed to clear their lines on at least two occasions and were left to heave a huge sigh of relief when Dirk Kuyt seared a volley off target from Ngog's knock down. [Read more…]
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