Saturday night couldn’t have gone much better for Liverpool — three points, a clean sheet, and a dominant display.
Mohamed Salah netted his 250th goal for the club, and Ryan Gravenberch added another after the interval to give the Premier League champions their first domestic victory in six weeks. The win temporarily lifted them into third place, giving Reds fans their most stress-free evening in a while.
However, Arne Slot might still have one gripe — a moment involving Aston Villa’s Amadou Onana that many felt should’ve resulted in a red card.
Onana grabs Mac Allister by the neck
As Villa prepared to take a corner in the 73rd minute, a scramble inside Liverpool’s six-yard box caused Stuart Attwell to step in and calm things down.
Broadcast footage captured Onana placing his hand around Alexis Mac Allister’s throat, causing the Argentine to fall to the ground. The referee only showed the Villa midfielder a yellow card, leaving plenty to question why VAR didn’t intervene for a potential red.
Onana lucky to stay on the pitch
Nobody wants unjust dismissals, but Onana could hardly have protested if Attwell had sent him off. Any contact above the shoulders puts a player at serious risk of disciplinary action. Mac Allister may have exaggerated slightly, yet he had every reason to feel frustrated that the Belgian remained on the field.
The confusion grew shortly afterward when Dominik Szoboszlai and Unai Emery were both booked for a minor disagreement near the touchline — somehow earning the same punishment as a neck grab.
Fortunately, the incident didn’t affect the outcome. Liverpool held firm, and relief swept through Anfield at the final whistle as the champions celebrated a fully deserved win.
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