Aston Villa failed to break into the top half of the Premier League table as they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at home to Liverpool on Boxing Day.

The Villans had won their last two matches in the English top flight, prior to the break for the 2022 World Cup, but were unable to continue Unai Emery's 100% league record in charge of the club.

Jurgen Klopp's side took the lead early on as a brilliant team move from the Reds opened the Villa defence up and ended with Mohamed Salah converting past Robin Olsen with ease.

Virgil van Dijk, via Ezri Konsa's hip, then made it 2-0 to the away side as he volleyed in after the ball broke to him in the box after a corner.

Ollie Watkins gave Villa some hope as he brilliantly headed past Alisson after peeling off the back of Joel Matip to make it 2-1 but Stefan Bajcetic's goal for Liverpool sealed all three points for last season's Champions League runners-up.

Whilst the England international scored an impressive goal and made some excellent runs throughout the match, the real shining light for Emery was French central midfielder, Boubacar Kamara.

The summer signing from Marseille caught the eye with an impressive display in the middle of the park. He showcased his defensive quality whilst also providing technical ability in possession for Villa.

As per Sofascore, he won 75% of his individual duels as he came out on top in six of the eight battles that he contested throughout the game, winning two tackles and making one interception in the process.

This shows that he was a monster out of possession and did not allow the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to bully him out of the game. He was able to hold his own and win the ball back for Villa on several occasions, often pushing high up to maintain pressure on the Liverpool defence when the home side were able to establish a period of dominance.

Kamara was also reliable in possession as he completed 89% of his attempted passes, including three of his five long balls, and only gave the ball away eight times from 65 touches in 85 minutes, as per Sofascore.

The 23-year-old proved that he can compete against the top teams, on and off the ball, and Emery should be delighted with the midfielder's performance, in spite of the end result.

Hopefully, he can continue his fine form throughout the rest of the season and contribute to wins instead of standing out in more defeats.