Liverpool had to dig deep to get the better of Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa side. It was an emotional visit for Gerrard who spent all his years at Liverpool and for the first time had to come in as a visiting manager at Anfield. He didn't allow the occasion to faze him as his men almost held on to the goalless game if not for Mo' Salah's magic.
Winning a game like this is vital in the Premier League where you have to dig so deep to get the win. Liverpool did against Wolves the last time as it took Origi's late strike to give the Reds the win. Aston Villa had to defend so deep but Tyron Mings' clumsy challenge on Salah gave the Reds the advantage as Salah converted from the spot-kick to register his 21st goal for Liverpool this season.
Liverpool should have gone ahead as early as the 5th minute when Mane was found inside the box but his header wasn't much of a threat. It took 3 minutes again to have Liverpool threaten Aston Villa's backline after Salah and Mane combined well with Salah setting up Mane inside the box. Mane felt a touch on him inside the box and he went down but the referee wasn't in the mood to give a penalty for that.
Liverpool continued bombarding Villa's backline and Salah did so well to go over the ball as a dummy to set up Alexander Arnold just outside the box but his shot was deflected over the bar instead, in the 11th minute. Liverpool kept knocking but was still unable to get the goal.
In the 16th minute, Robertson also had his effort saved by the goalkeeper after his header came off Cash but the goalkeeper was there to stop the effort. It was the same way Martinez saved a brilliant header from Virgil Van Dijk after a lovely corner kick delivery into the box.
Martinez was unable to prevent what's to come next as Tyron Mings' clumsy challenge on Mo' Salah didn't go unpunished in the 64th minute after Salah was brought down inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Salah stepped up and converted the spot-kick.
Liverpool should have gotten a second in the game after Mane brilliantly broke through on the left side of the pitch and he picked out Salah on the other side. Salah should have had a shot but he wanted to pick out Mane but his pass was blocked off and Liverpool didn't capitalize on such a wonderful chance in the 82nd minute.
The game ended 1-0 with a Liverpool win and Steven Gerrard's return to Anfield ended in a defeat as Liverpool kept pace with Manchester City in their fight for the top spot.
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