Curtis Jones 7, Naby Keita 8; Indiana Vassilev gets a run out - Liverpool v Aston Villa player ratings

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - Alisson Becker – 7, Coped with everything that came near him, and tried his best to create, too, with some quick, long-range passes. Good late save to thwart Grealish. Reuters

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7, Among Liverpool’s most creative forces, which is hardly unusual. Played the pass before the assist for the opener. AFP

Joe Gomez – 6, Rarely threatened by an inexperienced Villa forward line. EPA

Virgil van Dijk – 6, Lucky his side were not punished after he had given the ball away to Luiz in the second phase. Other that that, he was little troubled. EPA

Andy Robertson – 5, Seems as though he clocked off as soon as Liverpool clinched the league. He made plenty of missteps and was booked, too. EPA

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6, Huffed and puffed, but to little effect, bar a couple of semi-threatening crosses. EPA

Fabinho – 6, Nowhere near the spellbinding display of the last time he played at Anfield, and he was subbed on the hour. EPA

Naby Keita – 8, Threaded a fine pass for Sadio Mane to finally break the shackles, and was full of energy throughout. EPA

Mohamed Salah – 6, Some way short of his best, but still good enough to provide a cute assist for Curtis Jones’ goal near the end. Reuters

Sadio Mane – 7, Happy to go looking for work when the ball was not finding him, and he was perfectly placed to hit the opener.Reuters

Divock Origi – 5, Caught the eye because of his newly-dyed peroxide hair, but definitely not his performance. AFP

SUBS: Georginio Wijnaldum (on for Fabinho, 61') – 6, Helped give the champions some cohesion when he was part of a triple substitution on the hour. Reuters

Roberto Firmino (on for Origi, 61') – 5, Given half an hour at the end, but continues his anonymous return since lockdown. Reuters

Jordan Henderson (on for Oxlaide-Chamberlain, 61') – 7, Provided the oomph that really was required as Liverpool laboured for the first 60 minutes. EPA

Curtis Jones (on for Keita, 85') – 7, Canny positioning allowed him to profit from Salah’s knockdown to score his first goal in front of the Kop. AFP

Neco Williams (on for Robertson, 90+4') – NA, Sneaked in an appearance fee just before the final whistle. EPA

ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Pepe Reina – 6, No chance with either of the goals, and was otherwise underemployed on his perform to his old stomping ground. AFP

Ezri Konsa – 7, Coped well enough with Robertson and Mane in the first phase, and was rewarded by having Origi switch to his flank in the second. EPA

Kortney Hause – 7, Maybe fortunate to not to have conceded a penalty against Salah – but that would have been unjust itself, given how capably he performed otherwise. Reuters

Tyrone Mings – 7, Made easy work of Origi, and even had the chance to maraud forward when he had the chance before the break. Reuters

Neil Taylor – 6, Made one important clearance from a Robertson cross, but the two goals both came in areas he could have filled. AFP

Douglas Luiz – 8, His industry was the major feature of a plucky Villa performance – and he even dispossessed Van Dijk. EPA

John McGinn – 5, Booked for a late challenge on Oxlade-Chamberlain in the first half, and was half a step behind for much of it. EPA

Jack Grealish – 7, Appeared to be batting a foot injury throughout, which took some of the spark out of him. EPA

Anwar El Ghazi – 5, Too many Villa attacks broke down when the ball made it to the ponderous wide-man. AFP

Trezeguet – 5, Wasteful with a cross when Villa needed better on the break in the first-half, which typified his side’s lack of precision. EPA

Keinan Davis – 6, From Biggleswade Town to the big time. No surprise he found it tough going against Van Dijk, but no disgrace either. Reuters

SUBS: Mbwana Samatta (on for Davis, 74') – NA, For Jota, ditto Samatta. Both appeared to have the best intentions, but without the opportunity. EPA

Jota (on for El Ghazi, 74') – NA, Saw some of the ball when he came on, but not in areas of the pitch where he could make an impact. Reuters

Indiana Vassilev (on for Trezeguet, 85') – NA, Only enough time to complete a satisfying word-play with the Liverpool substitute Jones. EPA