**Liverpool ended their Premier League losing streak against Aston Villa.**
Hugo Ekitike appeared to put the hosts ahead shortly before the interval when he headed Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross before it was disallowed for offside.
But Mohamed Salah struck an undeniable opener in first half added time by seizing on Emiliano Martinez’s weak pass to roll the ball into an empty net.
Arne Slot’s side extended their lead after the break courtesy of a shot from Ryan Gravenberch which took a deflection off Pau Torres in front of The Kop.
The reigning champions’ first win in five outings moved them up to third, level on points with Bournemouth and kept the points gap to Arsenal at seven.
_Here were they key talking points from Anfield:_
Statements on and off the pitch
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Crisis? What crisis?
One win alone cannot mask a losing streak which, until very recently, had bordered on historic for Liverpool but this was a very important first step.
Arne Slot’s faltering champions needed to deliver a response against Aston Villa after their latest bruising week with another potentially on the horizon.
Fortune undoubtedly played a part, with both goals stemming from defensive mishaps, yet this was the Reds’ most controlled domestic display thus far.
With their first-choice midfield restored alongside an equally familiar defensive line, this was as close to a resemblance of the title-winning crop.
Support for Slot remains unequivocal, with full-throated renditions going up from The Kop at various stages of Saturday’s Premier League encounter.
Managerial backing has remained largely unstinting here in recent times, with only a handful of incumbents denied that backing in the past 15 years or so.
But the message sent out both on and off the pitch was one of defiance to the footballing world which has been rubbernecking over the Anfield club’s slump.
Historic Salah hits comeback trail
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From failing to hit the target in six previous outings to a return of two in two, Mohamed Salah certainly knows how to answer his recent detractors.
The evergreen Egyptian may not be firing on all cylinders as yet but there was clear evidence against the Villans that he is officially on the comeback trail.
In the blink of an eye, he had punished one of the world’s best goalkeepers with a rolled finish to plunder Liverpool’s opener and make further history.
A 250th goal in all competitions puts Salah on an even higher plane than previously as one of three marksmen in the club’s history to reach the figure.
Speed of thought was also key to his consolation during last weekend’s defeat at Brentford which heralded a long-awaited end to his barren spell.
Yet it was more than those poacher’s finishes which offered proof that Salah is working his way back towards his previous role as Liverpool’s talisman.
Even before making Emi Martinez regret his poor judgement, the forward had teed up his attacking cohorts with a successive of smart balls in the final third.
Salah again playing with a bit between his teeth after shaking off his recent hiatus will be the stuff of nightmares for the Villa stopper’s counterparts.
Succession plan should be on hold
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The left-back position had been one of the obvious talking points during Liverpool’s recent malaise as Slot placed his trust entirely in Milos Kerkez.
That leap of faith is yet to be fully vindicated with the Hungary international’s adaptation period hampered by a need to tailor his approach considerably.
Slot’s previous refusal to entertain any potential bedding in by starting Andy Robertson in some games had been a head scratcher for many Kopites.
After all, the Scotland captain himself benefited from sporadic involvement in the starting XI upon his 2017 arrival and it proved to be the making of him.
Robertson’s first Premier League start of the season suggested that his head coach is, belatedly, willing to consider that previously tried and tested method.
A first clean sheet in 11 games told only half the story of a successful return to familiar territory alongside Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley.
It would be too simplistic to say that the 31-year-old alone is responsible for the backline appearing more steely than its recent porous incarnation.
Longer term, Robertson’s role will be downscaled but while Liverpool remain in a period of transition, Slot’s succession plan has to take a back seat.