Christian Benteke scored a brace this afternoon to help Aston Villa record just their third win over Liverpool at Anfield in 13 years.

The Reds played well, especially in the first half, but were severely punished by a clinical Villa unit.

Steven Gerrard nabbed a consolation goal at the death, but Brendan Rodgers will be far from happy with the end result.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look to see how Villa managed to walk away with all three points.

Match statistics

Liverpool
Shots: 29
On Target: 8
Possession: 71%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 5

Aston Villa
Shots: 11
On Target: 6
Possession: 28%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 10

Was the result fair?

You'd have to say so. Villa took the lead through Christian Benteke against the run of play, and then a lapse in concentration in defence allowed Andreas Weimann to put them two up. Benteke made it three five minutes after half time, and they set about defending that lead, never really looking like conceding... until they did.

Liverpool's performance

6/10. The Reds dominated the first half and had a few decent chances to score. Their attacking play was bright, up until the final ball. That is so often a source of frustration for Brendan Rodgers. Benteke's goal came from Villa's first spell on contained possession in Liverpool's half. It came out of nothing. However, the second and third goals were entirely avoidable. In the second half, they tried desperately to get back into the game but Villa had built such a commanding lead that they could afford to drop back and defend their area. It became very congested in Villa's final third and Liverpool couldn't find a yard of space. Steven Gerrard's goal is scant consolation for the Northern Irish tactician, who will be wondering quite how his team managed to lose by three goals to one.

Aston Villa's performance?

8/10. Villa didn't get off to the best of starts. They were a bit slow out of the traps, but Liverpool failed to punish them accordingly. Andreas Weimann and Benteke linked up beautifully for the second goal, although the Liverpool defence allowed Weimann a free run into the box. He duly swept home past Pepe Reina after latching onto Benteke's brilliant back heel. Benteke then glided through midfield and defence to slot home the third five minutes after the break. After that, Ciaran Clark, Chris Herd and Nathan Baker repelled everything that Liverpool could throw at them. The Reds just couldn't find a way through. Despite taking all three points, Gerrard's late goal will take a bit of the gloss off the victory.

Referee's performance

Liverpool had a few penalty claims, but nothing really concrete. Daniel Agger's was the best shout, as he appeared to be having his shirt pulled by Ciaran Clark. However, the Dane also had a clump of Clark's shirt as well. In all, Neil Swarbrick had a decent game. Nothing for either manager to complain about.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Christian Benteke: The Belgian bagged his first Premier League goals away from Villa Park and led the line brilliantly.

Biggest gaffe

Nathan Baker nearly cost his team a goal at 0-0 when he dallied on the ball in defence, allowing Luis Suarez to dispossess him and tee up Jonjo Shelvey. Luckily for Baker, Suarez delayed the pass just a split-second too long, allowing Clark to make an excellent recovering tackle.

What's next?

Liverpool: The Reds host Fulham in the late kickoff next Saturday.

Aston Villa: The Villans will attempt to repeat today's feat when they travel to Chelsea next Sunday.