Liverpool vs Aston Villa: Salah leads Reds revival to end losing streak

Liverpool were desperate to turn things around after an abysmal run of results in the league, and they did so against a disappointing Aston Villa side.

The home crowd were nearly silenced inside five minutes when Morgan Rogers started and almost finished a brilliant team move, cannoning a shot off the post after linking up with Ollie Watkins.

After Hugo Ekitike's goal was ruled out for offside, Mohamed Salah broke the deadlock when a high press prompted Martínez to give the ball away, and the Egyptian made no mistake, firing home to become just the third Liverpool player to score 250 goals for the club.

Unai Emery’s men looked dangerous in the early moments of the second half, but Liverpool did not crumble under pressure.

The hosts doubled their lead just before the hour mark. Again, a high press forced a turnover, allowing Alexis Mac Allister to pick out Ryan Gravenberch, whose deflected effort sailed past Martínez much to the relief of Slot and the home fans. 

Villa pushed forward but the Reds defence held firm in the face of pressure to deliver a well-deserved first league win since the end of September.