Salah scores milestone goal as Liverpool ends rot
Liverpool finally halted its dreadful losing run with a 2-0 Premier League victory over Aston Villa to climb into third place on the table, as Mohamed Salah became the third player in the club's history to score 250 goals.
Under mounting pressure after four successive league losses – six in their past seven games across all competitions – Arne Slot's men climbed to within seven points of league leader Arsenal with 18 points.
Salah struck in first-half stoppage-time, capitalising on a huge blunder from Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez who played the ball right into the path of Liverpool's talisman.
Salah finished first time to the relief of the anxious Anfield crowd, and joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players to score 250 goals for the Merseyside club.
Ryan Gravenberch doubled the home side's lead in the 58th minute when he blasted a shot from the top of the box that deflected off Pau Torres and in past Martinez.
Slot punched the air in delight as the home fans serenaded the manager.
"I think everyone who was here today felt the importance of the game, the players and fans as well," he said. "We showed character and won the game.
The crowd also chanted "Champions! Champions!" when the final whistle sounded to end what had been the longest current losing run in the league.
"It's very important," goalscorer Salah said. "We've had a few losses in the Premier League and Champions League. I'm glad we are back on track now, and it's a big push before some important games."
Liverpool finished with 16 shots to Villa's nine.
Captain Virgil van Dijk admitted it had not been easy to tune out the negative noise during Liverpool's run of poor performances.
"We're not going out on the pitch to lose games, we're not going out there to be disappointed or leave fans disappointed," he said. "We want to work our socks off and win games.
"There's no guarantee, you play in the Premier League, the highest level, in the biggest league in the world, and it's difficult to stay calm – but you have to."
Villa's loss ended a four-game winning streak, and saw it fall to 11th place.
"We can feel a bit disappointed but we played the match like we planned," Villa boss Unai Emery said.
"[Liverpool] were playing at home and they needed to react [after a string of losses], and they reacted."
