Tielemans: We put up a fight

Youri Tielemans was proud of the fight Aston Villa showed at Anfield, despite falling to a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool.

Villa kept plugging away over the course of the 90 minutes against Arne Slot’s league leaders, showing signs of promise throughout but ultimately succumbing to two goals on the counter attack.

Tielemans described the defeat as “the way to lose”, and felt he and his teammates left everything on the pitch.

Speaking after the match, he said: “To be fair, I think we put up a fight today. The mood is negative because we lost, but I think that is the way to lose.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get any points here, but it is a tough place to come to.

“They’re a good side, they have quality, and they pick up on our mistakes. They were clinical, which we weren’t.

“I felt like we were in the game, even when we conceded that second goal unfortunately, so it’s a pity.”

Attention for the midfielder quickly turned to ensuring the Villans can respond upon returning from international duty.

Having not been selected for the Belgium squad, Tielemans’ immediate focus is on ensuring he rests, and trying to make a winning return to Premier League action at Villa Park, when Crystal Palace visit on Saturday, November 23 (ko 3pm). 

“I think we’ve got to pick ourselves up and get some results when we come back from the international break,” the 27-year-old added.

“We’ve just got to get the results now, try to score goals and put confidence back up. It would be a good way to do that at home in our next home game.

“A bit of rest, and go again.”