Liverpool beat Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield on Tuesday night to make it three wins from three in the Champions League league phase. They trailed 2-0 after 29 minutes.
Alexis Mac Allister scored twice, Ronald Araújo and Florian Wirtz added one each, and Villarreal's late goal made for a tense finish.
How the goals came
Villarreal led after four minutes through Georges Mikautadze. Sergi Cardona doubled the lead on 29 minutes, set up by Nathan Saliba.
Liverpool replied within seven minutes. Mac Allister scored on 36, with Konstantinos Tsimikas providing the assist. Araújo then levelled in the second minute of first-half stoppage time (45+2), from a Rio Ngumoha assist, and it was 2-2 at the break.
Mac Allister put Liverpool ahead on 65 minutes, again with Ngumoha as the creator. Three minutes later Wirtz made it 4-2, assisted by Cody Gakpo.
Villarreal had the last word. Tani Oluwaseyi scored on 87 minutes after a pass from Ayoze Pérez, but Liverpool held on.
What the numbers say
Liverpool had the better of the match statistically. They had 22 shots to Villarreal's 14, and seven of them were on target, against five for the visitors. They also won the corner count 7-2 and had 53% of possession to Villarreal's 47%.
Eight of Liverpool's shots were off target, compared with two for Villarreal. Seven shots from each side were blocked.
Villarreal had the more disciplined afternoon in neither sense. Alberto Moleiro was booked on 27 minutes and Santiago Mouriño on 41, so the visitors have now collected seven yellow cards in three games. Liverpool have one. Fouls were close, at 12 for Liverpool and 10 for Villarreal.
Defensive work remains for Liverpool. They have scored 12 goals in three matches, an average of four per game, but have conceded 7 (2.33 per game) and have yet to keep a clean sheet. Villarreal have also not kept one, and average 2.67 goals conceded per game.
What it means in the table
Liverpool are first in the league phase table with nine points from three games and a goal difference of +5. The top eight go straight into the round of 16.
Villarreal are 19th, with three points from three and a goal difference of 0. That is inside the zone from ninth to 24th, which goes into the knockout play-offs. Slovan Bratislava are 36th and last, with no points and a goal difference of -12.
The result also extended Liverpool's recent record against Villarreal. They won both of their previous meetings, 2-0 at Anfield on 27 April 2022 and 3-2 away on 3 May 2022, and have now won all three.
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