Aston Villa 1
Barry(P) 85
Liverpool 2
Laursen(O) 31, Gerrard 87
Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 2 August 11 2007
Steven Gerrard's superb free-kick and Martin Laursen's own goal ensured a 2-1 victory for Liverpool on the opening day at Aston Villa.
Liverpool took the lead when Dirk Kuyt managed to cut the ball back into the danger area from the by-line and the unfortunate Laursen only succeeded in lofting the ball into the roof of the net.
Villa looked to have rescued a point when skipper Gareth Barry cancelled out that goal with an 85th-minute penalty after Jamie Carragher had handled in the box.
But then Gerrard curled a 20-yard shot past the dive of Stuart Taylor barely 60 seconds later, after the referee harshly ruled he had been brought down by Stiliyan Petrov.
Overall Liverpool were worthy winners of the match with record signing Fernando Torres making a satisfactory debut despite spurning a golden first-half opportunity.