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But that the Egyptian continues to back up his hunger with decisive actions underlines why he remains the one most likely responsible should Liverpool end the season with the 20th crown in the trophy cabinet.

And, as is usually the case these days, Salah marked another game with yet another landmark.

Salah, though, demonstrated the other side of his game in the second half when teeing upTrent Alexander-Arnold’s equaliser.



Salah now has 29 goals and 20 assists in 37 appearances, a frankly astonishing return.

While both Jota and Darwin Nunez faltered at the decisive moment here – and how Liverpool will hope that doesn’t come back to bite them – Salah continues to deliver.

Well, when he’s not leaving everyone at home, that is.

But the Reds boss certainly caused eyebrows to be raised here when the teamsheet dropped and, with Cody Gakpo still injured and Luis Diaz benched in favour of Curtis Jones, there appeared no obvious left winger.

Given the manner in which the Reds tired during the second half against Wolves on Sunday, it was a mild surprise there were no further changes.

And if the Jones experiment was a qualified success, that owed much to the sheer persistence of the 24-year-old

Perhaps understandably, Jones greater prospered first half when drifting into central areas, creating a chance for Dominik Szoboszlai and then dragging a shot wide.

After the break, though, he became a greater influence with his ability to hold on to the ball giving Liverpool a base from which to build attacks, particularly during the period before they equalised.

As for the other midfielders, Szoboszlai, similar to Alexis Mac Allisterr, didn’t want for effort but dipped in and out of the game, while Ryan Gravenberch again struggled to make much consistent impact.

The Dutchman needs a breather and Jones, lively in his Goodison cameo last week, again provided compelling evidence he merits another start.

Robertson responds again

Defences, so the old adage goes, win titles

So there will be concern at the Reds being a little too easy to score against in recent weeks, five goals now shipped in the last three games.

Aston Villa had been largely neutralised in the first half before Liverpool were undone at first a set-piece and, more worryingly, the failure to close down Lucas Digne to whip in a cross converted by the unmarked Ollie Watkins.

As against Wolves at the weekend, the insistence on playing out from the back – while praised afterwards by Slot – had already offered Villa encouragement when there should have been none.

In fairness, individual defensive performances were not overly concerning

Ibrahima Konate demonstrated the right mixture of aggression and anticipation while Virgil van Dijk in the second half stepped up when required.

And Andy Robertson was lively down the left flank in both directions to justify his continued selection ahead of Kostas Tsimikas