by Dave Usher for ESPN
One of Liverpool's most disappointing results of last season came when they were shocked by Aston Villa at Anfield in December. It was a significant and surprising upset; Liverpool had won three games on the spin and had lost only one of the previous eleven. Brendan Rodgers had spoken in the buildup to the game about how he was aiming higher than just a top four finish and the Reds looked to be finally finding some consistency after an up and down start to the season.
A home game against struggling Villa appeared to be a great opportunity for Liverpool to continue their push up the table. The Midlanders had scored just two goals in their previous five games and their young side were looking like startled rabbits in the Premier League headlights. There was a real air of complacency about Liverpool that day, however, and they paid the price for it as a Christian Benteke-inspired Villa triumphed 3-1.
The big Belgian frontman completely dominated Liverpool's defence that day. Martin Skrtel had a torrid afternoon; he was completely bullied by Benteke who was virtually unplayable, scoring twice and creating a third for Andreas Weimann with a clever backheel. Villa raced into a 3-0 lead and then held on fairly comfortably until Steven Gerrard bagged a late consolation in front of the Kop.
It wasn't that Villa were especially good -- indeed, a week later they went to Chelsea and lost 8-0! -- it was that Liverpool were woeful in defence and attack and took to the field with completely the wrong attitude. It has happened a couple of times since, too (Oldham in the FA Cup and Hull away this season being two other examples), but overall Rodgers has generally done an excellent job preparing his team since being shocked by Villa.
This season, the Reds have won nine out of 10 at Anfield, with the Southampton loss the only stain on an otherwise perfect home record. That loss to the Saints was due to numerous factors, but over confidence wasn't one of them. Complacency shouldn't come into it this weekend either, all Rodgers needs to say to his players is "remember what happened last season?" Liverpool know what to expect from Benteke and they know what can happen if their attitude isn't what it should be, so there can be no excuse for a repeat of what happened last season.
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