Liverpool writer Andrew Beasley shared a statistic during the first half of the Reds’ game against Aston Villa this afternoon which will have Kopites rolling their eyes with frustration.
It wasn’t a first 45 minutes that the home fans will recall fondly at Anfield, with Ibrahima Konate giving away a penalty (which Ollie Watkins subsequently missed) and Jacob Ramsey putting the visitors in front a few minutes later.
The refereeing performance of John Brooks, who gave 10 fouls against the hosts compared to six for the away team before half-time (Sofascore), also had many LFC fans howling with fury, and the official somehow failed to dismiss Tyrone Mings for a blatant kick into Cody Gakpo’s stomach.
Just after the opening goal went in, Beasley took to Twitter to share a statistic with which Liverpool supporters might resonate after a blood pressure-raising first half.
He noted: “Villa have the most yellows for time wasting in the PL this season, and Martinez the most of any player. Get set to be frustrated for the next 65 minutes or so.”
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As impotent as Liverpool were in the opening 45 minutes – failing to register a shot on target (Sofascore) – the home fans had every right to be livid with the downright inept performance of the officials and some of the Villa players’ antics.
Shortly after Ramsey’s goal, there were screams of impatience at Anfield when Leon Bailey stayed down for a lengthy period after falling to the turf, with the Jamaican requiring treatment and Sky Sports‘ live web commentary even suggesting (15:35) ‘Signs of game management already?’.
It had Reds-supporting comedian Adam Rowe fuming at the interval, as he labelled the delay tactics and general standard of refereeing ’embarrassing’ (via @adamrowecomedy on Twitter).
One notable statistic going into the match was that of the ball being in play for just 54.4% of the Villans’ top-flight games this season, the fifth-lowest of any team in the Premier League (Opta Analyst).
It’ll be quite interesting to see what that percentage is once today’s encounter ends, with the first 45 minutes being annoyingly stop-start.
That said, Liverpool simply need to offer much more in terms of their own performance if they’re to keep their fading top-four hopes alive for the trip to Southampton next week.
You can see Beasley’s tweet below, via @BassTunedToRed on Twitter:
Villa have the most yellows for time wasting in the PL this season, and Martinez the most of any player.
Get set to be frustrated for the next 65 minutes or so.
— Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) May 20, 2023