To the modern manager trying to keep his club afloat in the Premiership, a controversial defeat makes better reading than the straight admission that the better team won.
Sunday Times
Sub Crouch makes plonker of O'Leary
Liverpool still seem to treat Premiership away games as they used to trips in Europe. Silence the crowd, keep a clean sheet, suck the other side in and, if they cannot grab something on the break, settle for the comfort of a goalless draw.
Sunday Telegraph
Hit-and-miss Crouch still the enigma
How the mighty are stumbling. When the fixture computer spewed out its lists in midsummer, Aston Villa against Liverpool on Guy Fawkes Day was not expected to be an encounter between two of the bottom eight in the Premiership.
Independent on Sunday
Villa discover that it never pays to take the rise out of Crouch
Peter Crouch still has not scored a goal for Liverpool, but this was surely the next best thing. The lanky striker will feel a whole lot better after coming off the bench on 70 minutes when the game was scoreless and effectively turning the afternoon Liverpool's way.
The Observer