Liverpool opened up a five-point lead on the prime of the Premier League as Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah struck in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
The Reds took full benefit of Manchester Metropolis’s newest defeat at Brighton earlier on Saturday to surge additional away from the champions.
Liverpool did not hit the heights of their second-half humiliation of German champions Bayer Leverkusen in a 4-0 Champions League win in midweek.
However Arne Slot’s males have been once more defensively strong to guard a sixth clear sheet in 11 league video games and take a agency grip on the title race.
Villa’s fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions sees Unai Emery’s males slip to eighth, however just one level off third-placed Nottingham Forest.
The Anfield crowd was fired up by information of Metropolis’s 2-1 defeat at Brighton and impressed a quick begin from the house aspect, but it surely was Villa who had the higher probabilities within the opening interval on the counter-attack.
Ryan Gravenberch produced a wonderful last-ditch block to repel Jacob Ramsey’s shot earlier than Leon Bailey headed over when unmarked on the again put up.
Set-pieces have been considered one of Villa’s large threats throughout their two-year rise underneath Emery, but it surely was from their corners that Liverpool seemed most harmful earlier than the break.
The opener arrived when Virgil van Dijk’s lengthy clearance caught the guests under-manned on the again and Bailey would seemingly have been despatched off for bringing down Salah had Nunez not burst onto the unfastened ball to internet his third objective of the season.
Liverpool have been then dealt a blow as Trent Alexander-Arnold hobbled off with a muscle damage that’s more likely to rule him out of England obligation within the coming weeks.
Solely wasteful ending from Nunez noticed Villa escape from a carbon copy transfer to the primary objective.
This time Salah performed within the Uruguayan on the break from a nook, however he slotted excessive and broad with solely Emi Martinez to beat.
The primary half story of Villa’s set-pieces continued as Caoimhin Kelleher was twice pressured into high-quality saves from Amadou Onana and Diego Carlos to protect Liverpool’s lead at half-time.
Morgan Rogers wasted one other enormous likelihood for the guests to stage simply seconds into the second half when he sliced broad.
Nunez continued to have the perfect of Liverpool’s alternatives as he headed broad from Andy Robertson’s cross on the different finish.
The house aspect have been set for a nervy finale till Salah gave them respiration area six minutes from time.
Carlos’ header was charged down by the Egyptian who raced by means of on objective to dink in his tenth objective of the season.
Liverpool’s fifteenth win in 17 video games since Slot took cost strikes them right into a commanding place within the title race.
Arsenal are 10 factors adrift of the leaders forward of a dauting journey to in-form Chelsea on Sunday.
And an out-of-sorts Metropolis are subsequent to go to Anfield on December 1 after Liverpool go to bottom-of-the-table Southampton when Premier League motion returns following a world break.
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