November 02, (THEWILL) — Arne Slot’s Liverpool ended their four-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa, during which Mohamed Salah matched Wayne Rooney’s single-club record for English Premier League goal involvements. The result prevented Liverpool from slipping into the bottom half of the table following their midweek EFL Cup elimination by Crystal Palace.
Villa controlled the early exchanges at Anfield, with Morgan Rogers hitting the post after just five minutes before goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili twice denied Rogers and kept out a deflected Matty Cash cross. Liverpool thought they had opened the scoring when Hugo Ekitike headed home Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross in the 43rd minute, only for VAR to rule the goal offside.
The breakthrough arrived one minute into first-half stoppage time when Emiliano Martinez played a poor pass that evaded Pau Torres, leaving Salah to slot into an unguarded net for his 250th Liverpool goal in all competitions. Ryan Gravenberch doubled the advantage in the 58th minute when his shot deflected off Torres and beat Martinez.
Ian Maatsen cleared off the line to deny Salah a simple finish, whilst Ross Barkley lifted over on the turn for Villa, who never mounted a serious comeback. Liverpool climbed to third place, seven points behind leaders Arsenal, with Villa sitting 11th and three points further back.
The victory provides crucial relief for Slot’s side after their worst league run of the campaign, with Salah’s milestone offering further cause for celebration at Anfield.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
