Liverpool 3 - 0 Aston Villa
With Torres given the night off to be with his wife Olalla, who
had gone into labour with their second child, David Ngog and Ryan
Babel ensured he was not unduly missed with first-half goals.
Maxi Rodriguez added the third in the 55th minute to make it
four successive Barclays Premier League victories for Liverpool at
Anfield.
In truth Villa, like previous visitors West Ham, posed little in
the way of a threat but there were some encouraging performances
from Liverpool all the same.
Raul Meireles, having been given an extended run in the centre
in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard, is starting to look
like an £11million midfielder and was in the midst of most of the
hosts good play.
Ngog and Babel will also have gained plenty of confidence from
their performances, although they will have to prove they can do it
against better opposition than this if they are to have long-term
futures at Anfield.
Almost forgotten in all the attacking play was Jose Reina's
clean sheet, his 100th in 198 league matches breaking by some
considerable distance the previous record held by Reds great Ray
Clemence - who took 217 games to reach the landmark.
Houllier, who won five trophies in his six-year spell at Anfield
- and four alone in 2001 - to cement his place in the club's
history books was welcomed back by a club motif-emblazoned banner
on the Kop which read Gerard's Heart Beats.
It may have skipped a beat in only the third minute when Dirk
Kuyt volleyed wide after Ngog's two headers from Meireles'
right-wing free-kick were not cleared.
Set-pieces were a weakness for Villa all night and they were
undone by one in the 14th minute.
Meireles' clipped delivery picked out Martin Skrtel who speared
a header back across goal and the diving Ngog could not fail to nod
in from barely three yards.
It was the Frenchman's eighth goal of the campaign - although
only his second in the league - and it took him past Gerrard as the
club's leading scorer this season.
Two minutes later Liverpool had doubled their lead with Babel
justifying manager Roy Hodgson's faith to select him up front.
The Dutchman has consistently failed to impress since his
£11.5million move from Ajax in 2007 but his goal was an example of
the talent - which some would argue he has wasted - at his
disposal.
Playing on the shoulder of Stephen Warnock, Babel allowed Lucas
Leiva's lofted ball to drop out to his right and he swivelled to
smash a shot across Brad Friedel and inside the far post.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos could have made it 3-0 in the 27th minute but
planted wide his far-post header from Meireles' free-kick while
Babel curled a first-time shot just wide of Friedel's left-hand
post from the Portugal international's low cross.
Villa had one chance to get back in the game just after
half-time but Gabriel Agbonlahor's close-range shot from Stewart
Downing's cross was half-saved by Reina and the ball cleared by
Paul Konchesky.
Moments later a counter-attack of brilliant simplicity finished
them off.
Reina collected and instantly rolled the ball 30 yards down the
middle of the pitch to Rodriguez, who offloaded to Ngog out to the
left and then perfectly timed his run to sidefoot home the return
pass 40 yards further up the pitch.
Rodriguez looks increasingly at home out on the left and, having
scored just one goal in his first five months after joining last
January, he now has three in his last seven matches.
Only former Liverpool goalkeeper Friedel prevented a fourth,
parrying away Johnson's shot after he had weaved his way into the
area.
Kyrgiakos' header from Meireles' corner was cleared off the line
by Jonathan Hogg as Villa threatened to buckle completely.
The Kop, as in years gone by, sang the names of Houllier and his
assistant Gary McAllister but it was more out of sympathy than
anything else.
Hodgson, who has yet to win over the Anfield faithful, stood
unmoved on the touchline safe in the knowledge three points were
safe - which Houllier would testify is how all managers are
ultimately judged.
