Liverpool took full advantage of Manchester City’s slip-up in the Premier League title race by beating Aston Villa to move five points clear in top spot.
Just before the game at Anfield kicked off, the reigning champions were beaten 2-1 by Brighton.
That meant leaders Liverpool knew victory would ensure they opened up a decent gap to City heading into the international break.
Darwin Nunez opened the scoring in the 20th minute, striding on to a loose ball after Mohamed Salah went down in a tangle with Leon Bailey following a brilliant counter-attack before firing beyond Emi Martinez.
Nunez really should have had a second not long after when he broke away following another quick break, but this time he drove his shot over.
It could have proved costly but for two fantastic saves by Caoimhin Kelleher to first deny Amadou Onana and then Diego Carlos before the interval.
Morgan Rogers then missed another big chance for Villa seconds after the restart when he clipped a shot wide when aiming for the far corner.
Chances after that were few in a tense second half, although Villa boss Unai Emery felt his side should have had a penalty for a shirt pull by Conor Bradley – an early replacement for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold – on Pau Torres, but nothing was given after a review by the video assistant referee (VAR).
But Salah made sure of a big three points with six minutes left when he raced through and squeezed a shot home at the near post, scoring for a fourth successive league game.
The win was Liverpool’s ninth in 11 Premier League games – 15th in 17 overall since Arne Slot took charge in the summer – while Aston Villa are eighth.
Cool and calm Liverpool show no signs of faltering
This was largely expected to be a season of transition for Liverpool under Slot but the Dutchman has exceeded all expectations to have the Reds flying high both domestically and in Europe.
Fresh from thumping Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 in midweek to maintain their 100% record in this season’s Champions League, Liverpool came through another challenge by capitalising on Manchester City’s loss at Brighton to overcome a dangerous Villa side.
It perhaps should have been a more comfortable scoreline than it was, with Nunez showing the best and worst parts of his game on Saturday night.
The Uruguay striker showed great awareness to pounce on a loose ball and then produce a clinical finish to open the scoring, but then missed a number of easier chances to put the game to bed, firing wide after another brisk counter and then heading wide in the second half.
But Liverpool remained calm despite the missed chances and got the security of the second through the dependable Salah – just as Villa threatened a strong finish.
Slot has shown to be more of a pragmatist than a risk taker at Liverpool and that careful approach appears to be serving them well in a title race where, unlike their rivals, they are yet to falter.
Villa concern after fourth straight loss
Villa boss Emery has given fans highs they perhaps didn’t ever expect to experience, with the best of those arguably the impressive win against Bayern Munich in the Champions League earlier this season.
They are once again doing well in the Premier League but are going through a difficult spell at the moment, with this defeat their fourth in a row in all competitions.
This was not be any means a bad performance against a side that had won seven of their eight previous games at home in all competitions, and they had good chances to level before Salah sealed the success.
But, ultimately, this was another disappointing outcome and Villa have now managed just one win in their last six league games – a run that has left them among four clubs who are one point behind fourth-placed Brighton.
The international break will come as a welcome opportunity to regroup before trying to arrest the slide.
