Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa as the Premier League leaders dropped points to give Arsenal hope in the title race.

Substitute Darwin Nunez had a chance to win it but blazed over in the closing stages as Trent Alexander-Arnold's second-half deflected strike earned Liverpool a point to stretch their advantage to eight points having played a game more than Arsenal.

.

Ollie Watkins headed Villa into the lead just before half-time as they came from behind after gifting Mohamed Salah the opener, but the visitors were only ahead for nine minutes before Youri Tielemans equalised.

Liverpool draw at Aston Villa to give Arsenal hope	Four reasons to give Arsenal title hope ahead of tough Liverpool run	Liverpool's next 5 fixtures compared to Arsenal in title race after Aston Villa draw

Liverpool now face big games at Manchester City, live on Sky Sports this Sunday, and Newcastle in the Premier League as the title race hots up, with Arsenal knowing they can close the gap to five points.

Watkins celebrates his goal against Liverpool.

Diogo Jota missed a glorious chance to restore Liverpool's lead instantly after Villa levelled, but completely miscued his strike when through on goal against Emi Martinez.

Also See:

Andres Garcia, signed by Villa in the winter transfer window, was at fault for Liverpool's opener as he passed the ball to Jota, who squared for Salah to score his 24th league goal of the season?

Salah celebrates his opener at Aston Villa

We tried everything and unfortunately it wasn't enough for three points.

"We should have scored 3-2, but credit to Aston Villa, they made it very difficult.

"We have a very tough one on the weekend again, then we play Newcastle, our focus now will be on Man City, a very difficult game, we know that.

"Do everything in your power to win games, the focus will be that on Sunday again."

Story of the match in statsWhat's coming up in the Premier League
For more news relating to Newcastle United, visit our sister site NUFC Latest Live.