Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal: Mac Allister leads recovery from 2-0 down
AI-written review based on match data · How we make it
Key numbers
- Two-goal deficit overturned in a 4-3 win
- Four conceded: a season high for Villarreal
- Mac Allister: 2 goals, 5 shots, 4 key passes
A two-goal deficit overturned
Liverpool beat Villarreal 4-3 after falling two goals behind. Georges Mikautadze scored early and Sergi Cardona doubled the lead, but Liverpool pulled level before the break: Alexis Mac Allister cut the deficit in the 36th minute and Ronald Araújo equalised in first-half stoppage time. Two more goals after the restart settled it, and Tani Oluwaseyi's 87th-minute reply came too late.
Villarreal pushed out of their usual pattern
Villarreal conceded four, a season-worst tally. Their 47% possession was also the lowest of the campaign, and their corner count was the fewest too, which suggests a side pushed back rather than one dictating the tempo as it usually does. Liverpool's 22 shots were well above the 12.3 Villarreal typically face.
Ngumoha's dribbling, Wirtz from the bench
Liverpool's selection looked different from the outset, with Wirtz, Barcola and Isak all starting on the bench. Rio Ngumoha, a starter, completed 7 of 8 dribbles and set up two goals. Florian Wirtz began among the substitutes but scored in the 68th minute and made more defensive actions than anyone on the pitch.
The goal that put Liverpool in front
Mac Allister's 65th-minute goal, which put Liverpool ahead for the first time, was worth +1.1 FN xPts to them and −0.8 to Villarreal, the largest combined change of the match. Wirtz added a fourth three minutes later, so Oluwaseyi's late goal could only reduce the damage.
FN MOM
Highest FN Score · our own pick by a published formula, not the official Player of the Match
Alexis Mac Allister 9.1Dominant
He scored twice and added five shots and four key passes.
Mac Allister carried the attacking load while keeping Liverpool's midfield connected, completing 53 of 60 passes. His 36th-minute goal cut a two-goal deficit before the break, and his 65th-minute strike gave Liverpool their first lead. Those goals came from Kostas Tsimikas and Rio Ngumoha, and he also made two interceptions.
Game state
0-10-21-22-23-24-24-3
Liverpool ahead 25 min · level 24 min · Villarreal ahead 41 min
FN xPts — what each moment was worth
How much each moment changed that team's expected points (win 3, draw 1). A goal's value is credited 70% to the scorer and 30% to the assist. The value next to a team code is what the same moment did to the other side's expected points; the decisive moment is the one with the largest combined change for both teams.
4'
Georges Mikautadze
Goal · LIV −0.6
+0.7
29'
Sergi Cardona
Goal · scorer +0.4 · assist Nathan-Dylan Saliba +0.2 · LIV −0.5
+0.6
36'
Alexis Mac Allister
Goal · scorer +0.3 · assist Kostas Tsimikas +0.2 · VIL −0.6
+0.5
45+2'
Ronald Araújo
Goal · scorer +0.6 · assist Rio Ngumoha +0.2 · VIL −0.9
+0.8
65'
Alexis Mac Allister
Goal · scorer +0.8 · assist Rio Ngumoha +0.3 · VIL −0.8
+1.1
68'
Florian Wirtz
Goal · scorer +0.3 · assist Cody Gakpo +0.1 · VIL −0.2
+0.4
87'
Tani Oluwaseyi
Goal · assist Ayoze Pérez · LIV −0.2
+0.1
Liverpool
Expected (last two seasons) 1.7Own moments +2.8Opponent moments −1.3Time effect −0.2→ League points won 3
Villarreal
Expected (last two seasons) 1.0Own moments +1.4Opponent moments −2.5Time effect +0.1→ League points won 0
Expected points don't add up to a fixed total (a draw is 1 + 1), so an opponent's moment isn't simply the mirror of your loss. "Time effect" is the change as the clock runs down on a lead or a chase, and isn't credited to any player.
How FN Score and FN xPts work →
Match stats
LiverpoolVillarreal
2.41Expected goals (xG)1.6
Compared with usual
Liverpool
10 matches this season, all competitions baseline
| This match | Avg | |
|---|
| Goals | 4 | 2 | |
| Conceded | 3 | 1.3 | |
| xG | 2.41 | 1.8 | |
| xG against | 1.6 | 1.3 | |
| Shots | 22 | 16.2 | |
| On target | 7 | 5.4 | |
| Shots faced | 14 | 12.1 | |
| xG per shot | 0.11 | 0.1 | |
| Possession | 53% | 55.4% | |
| Passes | 541 | 473.2 | |
| Corners | 7 | 5.7 | |
| Fouls | 12 | 12.7 | |
Villarreal
11 matches this season, all competitions baseline
| This match | Avg | |
|---|
| Goals | 3 | 1.6 | |
| Conceded | 4 | 1.5 | high |
| xG | 1.6 | 2 | |
| xG against | 2.41 | 1.4 | |
| Shots | 14 | 16 | |
| On target | 5 | 6.1 | |
| Shots faced | 22 | 12.3 | |
| xG per shot | 0.11 | 0.12 | |
| Possession | 47% | 58.5% | low |
| Passes | 498 | 553.6 | |
| Corners | 2 | 6.8 | low |
| Fouls | 10 | 10.6 | |
Timeline
- 4'
Goal
Georges Mikautadze competition goal #2
- 27'
Yellow
Alberto Moleiro
- 29'
Goal
Sergi Cardona competition goal #1 assist Nathan-Dylan Saliba
- 36'
Goal
Alexis Mac Allister competition goal #2 assist Kostas Tsimikas
- 41'
Yellow
Santiago Mouriño
- 45'
Sub
Ronald Araújo → Florian Wirtz
- 45'
Sub
Nathan-Dylan Saliba → Tani Oluwaseyi
- 45+2'
Goal
Ronald Araújo competition goal #2 assist Rio Ngumoha
- 54'
Sub
Alberto Moleiro → Juan Foyth
- 60'
Sub
Tajon Buchanan → Alexander Freeman
- 60'
Sub
Georges Mikautadze → Ayoze Pérez
- 65'
Goal
Alexis Mac Allister competition goal #3 assist Rio Ngumoha
- 66'
Sub
Lewis Koumas → Alexander Isak
- 68'
Goal
Florian Wirtz competition goal #1 assist Cody Gakpo
- 74'
Sub
Rio Ngumoha → Bradley Barcola
- 74'
Sub
Jérémy Jacquet → Joe Gomez
- 78'
Sub
Santi Comesaña → Gerard Moreno
- 81'
Sub
Trey Nyoni → James McConnell
- 87'
Goal
Tani Oluwaseyi competition goal #2 assist Ayoze Pérez
Category leaders
- Key passesAlexis Mac Allister4
- Duels wonCody Gakpo9/15
- DribblesRio Ngumoha7/8
- Defensive actionsFlorian Wirtz6
- ShotsAlexis Mac Allister5 (on target 2)
- Fouls wonTajon Buchanan4
#Liverpool#Villarreal#Champions League#Alexis Mac Allister#Rio Ngumoha#Florian Wirtz
This review was written by AI from match data (API-Football). FN Score and FN xPts are calculated by Fulltime Note using a published formula.