Aston Villa 1-0 Liverpool

The party was only just getting started as Liverpool made a quick exit.

The delirium spreading across Villa Park at news of arch rivals Birmingham City being relegated was in stark contrast to the frustration and disappointment etched on the faces of the visiting players.

This wasn't the way they wanted to sign off. It was a flat finish to a roller-coaster campaign.

Defeat rendered Liverpool's interest in events at White Hart Lane irrelevant as their push for fifth place fell short.

For the first time since 1999-2000 the Reds won't be playing European football next season.

Passports can be tucked away when the new campaign begins and Kenny Dalglish's men will only have domestic action to concern themselves with. For a club synonymous with triumphs on the continent it will leave a gaping hole in their fixture list.

But there will be no tears shed over missing out on the Europa League. No July trips to Macedonia, no Thursday nights on Channel Five, no half empty stadiums entertaining dismal opposition and no glut of Sunday fixtures as you play catch-up in the league.

After all the Reds played 14 games in the Champions League's poor relation this season and how many are still lodged in the memory banks? Aside from Steven Gerrard's hat-trick against Napoli there were precious few highlights.

Liverpool need to focus on getting back to rubbing shoulders with Europe's elite rather than the also-rans. The chances of them achieving that next season are improved by not having an uninspiring distraction.

Back in 1999-2000 when the Reds didn't have Europe to contend with they finished fourth having been seventh 12 months earlier. A similar improvement has to be their target.

Having come so far and set such high standards since the appointment of Dalglish in January, the hunched shoulders at the final whistle yesterday were understandable. After smashing five past Fulham a fortnight ago, it's hard to believe the Reds didn't score another goal or pick up a point.

Momentum has been dented in the home straight but when the dust settles everyone involved will come to realise what an achievement sixth place is.

Just remember where Liverpool were back on January 5. Outfought and outplayed by a severely depleted Blackburn side, they were a rudderless mess.

Talk of a relegation battle was being entertained by a manager out of his depth, while belief was being sucked away by every crushing setback.

Liverpool are now a very different beast. Dalglish has successfully halted the Reds' decline with unity and stability restored. The foundations are in place to take the club forward and now the hard work really starts.

Finishing the season with back to back defeats has at least underlined to owners Fenway Sports Group the rebuilding job that needs to be done this summer.

If Dalglish is going to realise his ambition of creating another dynasty he's going to need to spend big. A left-back, another centre-back, at least one winger and a back-up striker are urgently required.

His silver tongue will be vital as Liverpool try to attract top class talent without the promise of European football. Reds target Ashley Young appeared to be saying goodbye when he was substituted late on yesterday but will his next stop be Anfield or Old Trafford?

The manager is at least safe in the knowledge that the only reason players will leave Anfield in the coming months is because they aren't wanted. With so much dead wood floating around and flops returning from loan spells, Dalglish has his work cut out ridding the club of other people's mistakes.

If the boss was putting Joe Cole in the shop window by handing him a first league start since January at Villa Park, it's unlikely his phone will be red-hot today.

The former Chelsea man underlined why he's been relegated to the role of expensive bench warmer. His attitude is faultless but the reality is that injuries have taken their toll and for long periods games seem to pass him by.

Whether he's still at Anfield come August will surely hinge on whether someone is willing to match his six-figure weekly salary.

Cole struggled but he wasn't the only one as Liverpool looked like a side with nothing to play for.

In fairness their cause wasn't helped by the loss of Jay Spearing inside 12 minutes. He tried to battle on after being the victim of a reckless challenge from Nigel Reo-Coker but had to admit defeat and was replaced by Jonjo Shelvey.

The Reds briefly flickered into life with Lucas Leiva seeing his shot hacked off the line by Ashley Young but for the most part this was dour end of season fare.

Defensively, they were solid enough. Jamie Carragher, forced off to have stitches in a head wound, maintained his excellent form to nullify the threat of Darren Bent.

Carragher has been an inspirational leader in the absence of Steven Gerrard, who watched on from the away end yesterday.

Alongside him, Martin Skrtel has played every minute of every league game this season and has grown in stature in recent months. If a centre-back is bought this summer it will be to provide cover for those two with Daniel Agger's fitness an ongoing concern and Sotirios Kyrgiakos likely to depart.

The game's defining moment came 12 minutes before the break. Fabio Aurelio gave substitute Marc Albrighton too much space and his deep cross was lashed in off the underside of the bar by Stewart Downing.

The Reds improved in the second half as they gave more support to the previously isolated Luis Suarez and they wasted a glorious chance to equalise just past the hour mark.

Dirk Kuyt set Suarez clear and he unselfishly squared for Raul Meireles. The Portugal international should have buried it but a combination of Brad Friedel and Richard Dunne somehow kept the ball out. Half-hearted penalty appeals for handball against Dunne were waved away.

Aurelio sent a 20-yard free-kick curling just wide before Suarez spurned two chances you would expect him to bury.

It was Liverpool's first defeat at Villa Park since 1998 and the players tossed their shirts to the travelling fans before leaving Villa to celebrate wildly at Birmingham's expense.

The challenge now is to ensure next May there's a party going on the Reds are invited to.

ASTON VILLA (4-4-1-1): Friedel; L Young, Dunne, Collins, Walker; Downing, Reo-Coker (Agbonlahor 68), Delph (Albrighton 28), Petrov; A Young (Bradley 89); Bent. Not used: Marshall, Pires, Heskey, Clark.

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Reina; Flanagan, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio; Spearing (Shelvey 12), Lucas; Kuyt, Meireles, Cole (Ngog 68); Suarez. Not used: Gulacsi, Wilson, Poulsen, Wisdom, Robinson.

GOAL: Downing (33).

CARDS: Booked - Reo-Coker, Walker; Meireles, Cole.

REFEREE: Lee Probert (Gloucestershire)

ATTENDANCE: 42,786

Source: Liverpool Echo

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