Aston Villa had the best night in their Premier League history, but no one was there to see it

Aston Villa take on Liverpool on Saturday in a match that evokes memories of the Midlands club's best performance in the Premier League.

Few people would want to remember the year 2020, a time when the world was a disturbing place.

Face masks became part of people's daily accessories, football stadiums were as quiet as a forgotten memory and fans were being charged £14.95 to watch Sheffield United vs Fulham on PPV.

It's fair to say that the bad often outweighed the good in those dark times, but in October of that year, Villa Aston Fans were treated to an unscripted evening of much-needed joy and entertainment.

Liverpool They had ended their 30-year wait for the Premier League title just three months earlier, when the Covid-affected 2019/20 season was extended into the summer months.

Jurgen Klopp's side continued their momentum into the new campaign, starting the season with three wins in three tough opening games against Leeds. Chelsea and Arsenal.

Dean Smith's Aston Villa were also in good form after winning their first two league games, but nothing prepared us for what was to come later that night at Villa Park.

And it didn't take long for it to come to life.

Olivia Watkinswho had signed for Villa from Brentford for £28 million the previous month, was the first to get it right and was in the right place at the right time to punish Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian's costly mistake.

The goal was the product of stellar work by Jack Grealish and the then Villa captain was at it again, terrorizing the Liverpool defender before teeing up Watkins for his second of the night.

A fine finish from Mohamed Salah reduced the deficit for a total of two minutes before a deflected shot from John McGinn restored Villa's two-goal lead.

Incredibly, we hadn't even reached half-time before a well-worked set-piece saw Watkins complete a stunning first-half hattrick to leave the Champions League in tatters.

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There was even a little joy for Everton fans who saw former academy star Ross Barkley give Villa a 5-1 lead ten minutes into the second half.

The Toffees were level on nine points and trailing their city rivals on goal difference. However, Villa were doing everything they could to help Everton overcome Klopp's men from the comfort of their living rooms.

Such was Villa's superiority that Salah's second merely served as a consolation goal despite there still being 30 minutes left to play.

There was still time for fantastic captain Jack Grealish to get his name on the scoresheet, and he did so six minutes later with a shot that deflected off Fabinho.

Grealish wasn't done yet and his clever chip gave his team a seventh and final goal in the 75th minute.

It was a night that Aston Villa fans will never forget, but which they were sadly unable to attend due to restrictions on social gatherings.

Instead, that night was best left in the past for Klopp, who later accused his team of relinquishing all control.

“It seemed like we had lost our minds after 1-0,” he said after the game.

“Who wants to lose 7-2?” Klopp added. “Years ago we told ourselves we wanted to create history. That was history, but obviously the wrong kind.

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“We had some great chances that we didn't take, but when you concede seven I'm not sure you can say it would have been 7-7.

“We made too many mistakes and obviously huge mistakes. It started with the first goal and around the goals we made huge mistakes.”

Meanwhile, Aston Villa boss Smith admitted the result was beyond his wildest dreams.

“I'm very, very proud of the players, they executed the game plan perfectly,” he said.

“They showed quality, but my greatest pleasure was the pace of work.

“If Liverpool outwork you, they will beat you. They are an exceptional team.

“When someone likes Jurgen Klopp at the end of the game he says 'wow', you know you've done something special.

“And that was a special performance. The problem for the guys now is that I will be waiting for him all the time.

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“It was a wow factor, there was no one who didn't dig deep and make real change.”

Unai Emery's Aston Villa team will be hoping for more of the same when his side visit leaders Liverpool on Saturday night.

The Reds are two points clear at the top of the table, while Villa will be hoping to get back to winning ways after three consecutive defeats in all competitions.