ENGLISH FA PREMIER LEAGUE: LIVERPOOL 5 ASTON VILLA 0:IF HIGH spirits could lift a side to the peak of the Premier League then it would be Liverpool's destiny to take the title.

They have now scored a total of 13 goals in three matches against Real Madrid, Manchester United and Aston Villa. These, in theory, should have been gruelling fixtures. The opponents can be lambasted, but the current verve of Rafael Benitez’ side must be appreciated. They are a point behind United, who have a game in hand, but Liverpool will be full of zeal now.

Benitez himself snapped up the opportunity to disown a reputation for regimented football by complaining that the team should have added to the tally. It was more than enough for Villa, whose reasons for anguish included a red card for the goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

They have not won in their past eight games in all competitions and are now three points adrift of Arsenal, who occupy the last of the Champions League slots. With Villa due to meet Manchester United and Everton next, their manager Martin O’Neill will have to be inspirational.

The victors had a monopoly of both gusto and control. There was a minute’s silence in honour of the club secretary Bryce Morrison, who had died on Saturday.

As a man known for his love of Liverpool, this match itself may have been the commemoration he would most have appreciated. In it, Steven Gerrard, with the aid of two penalties, notched the first hat-trick of his career in the league.

Villa, it has to be noted, were virtually Liverpool’s accomplices. O’Neill is aware of his squad’s thinness in some areas and must wish that Emile Heskey had not been the sole recruit in January.

Here, the anguished Nigel Reo-Coker showed repeatedly that he is a midfielder who suffers when put at right-back in matches of this calibre.

It is devastating, too, for Villa to be without the centre-back and club captain Martin Laursen. He hurt his knee in December and has not been seen since an abortive comeback the following month. Morale and excitement had sustained the club for a long time, but it is quite a task to recreate such a mood when the decline develops a momentum of its own.

Some visiting fans were so disconsolate after the fourth goal, in the 50th minute, that they walked out of Anfield immediately.

Liverpool, in this frame of mind, will make most visitors’ morale appear brittle. With eight minutes gone, Gerrard’s free-kick was headed against the bar by Xabi Alonso and Dirk Kuyt drilled home the rebound.

There was then a pivotal incident that could have tipped the game in more conventional direction. John Carew connected well with a cross by Ashley Young, but Pepe Reina clawed the header away from the top corner and restricted the harm to a corner kick. On his 197th appearance the goalkeeper had produced his 100th clean sheet for the club.

The move that he foiled had been one of the rare occasions in which Villa showed the co-ordination that had delivered 10 away wins in the Premier League. The next Liverpool goal entailed a complete collapse in the visitors’ professionalism. Reina easily saved a Gareth Barry free-kick and booted the ball straight downfield.

That was enough to release Albert Riera and, with Luke Young unable to intervene, the Spaniard shot past Friedel. Liverpool, awash with confidence, exposed the unstable aspects of the Villa line-up.

Six minutes from half-time, Reo-Coker fouled Riera and Gerrard slotted in the first of his penalties. Villa were all but helpless and, five minutes after the interval, the Liverpool captain struck once again after Alonso had tapped a free-kick to him.

The second penalty was conceded when Friedel brought down Fernando Torres as the striker went round him.

There was a question as to whether there had been any element of intent, but it would also have been disconcerting if the referee, Martin Atkinson, had let play continue when the prospect of a goal ended with the Spaniard being bowled over.

The replacement goalkeeper, Brad Guzan, then made his Premier League debut and immediately conceded a goal to Gerrard’s spot-kick. A quarter of the game remained, but Liverpool were sated.

They will recall this day happily and if there are any reservations they lie in the fact that few opponents will be as vulnerable as this. The international break comes to the rescue of Villa, assuming that a fortnight is long enough to recover from such a trauma.

Much went awry here and Barry, whom Liverpool tried so hard to buy last summer, could not check the flow for Villa.

There was too little structure to the visitors. While Reina had set up a goal for Andrea Dossena at Old Trafford with a kick downfield, United had disintegrated by then.

Here, Villa were unable to deal with such a manoeuvre when barely half an hour had gone by.

Still, Liverpool did show a keen appetite.

There was balance and verve to their work and so long as Torres and Gerrard remain fit it is hard to see how they can be blunted. Games of this sort may not tell us much about the outcome of the league, but the psychological worth is indisputable.

Elementary as the victory was, an afternoon such as this will make Liverpool burn with even greater conviction.

Guardian Service

Top two's run-in

Top two’s remaining matches are:

Manchester United :

Aston Villa (H), April 5th

Sunderland (A) April 11th Portsmouth (H) April 22nd

Tottenham (H) April 25th

Middlesbrough (A) May 2nd

Manchester City (H) May 9th

Wigan Athletic (A) May 13th

Arsenal (H) May 16th

Hull City (A) May 24th.

Liverpool:

Fulham (A), April 6th

Blackburn (H), April 11th

Arsenal (H), April 19th

Hull (A), April 25th

Newcastle (H), May 2nd

West Ham (A), May 9th

West Brom (A), May 16th

Tottenham (H), May 24th