Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn admitted Liverpool proved they can be a “real force” this season after the Lions were beaten 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

After the disappointment at Newcastle, Villa had impressive results against Everton and Burnley, while Liverpool suffered their second defeat of the season. They scored when Dominik Szobošlai rattled in the opener before Matty Cash beat Darwin Nunez to make it 1-1.

Unfortunately, the ball was deflected to the baseline behind the goal post. Mohamed Salah sealed the deal in the second half to give Villa six points from their opening four league games going into the first international break of the season. McGinn himself admitted he missed chances to get Villa back into the game on the afternoon, knowing that if they didn’t take those chances from the gaps created by the Lions, they would be held back by a team now 15 years old. The team went undefeated in the league this season and last season.

Everything happened as expected. Indeed, the Scotland international will join Liverpool’s arch-rival Andy Robertson in Scotland’s traditional friendly against England at Hampden Park next week during the international break, something he believes the Reds have already done ahead of schedule this season. Be prepared and they will be a dangerous team for anyone.

“They have players who can hurt you and have the ability to score. McGinn told Aston Villa TV that when you give a team like Liverpool the lead it makes for a difficult afternoon. “We had opportunities to get guys like me back in the game and we didn’t take them. Liverpool have proven to be a real force this season. “