LIVERPOOL GLAD TO BE BACK ON TRACK

Reds 'got a bit lucky' to beat Villa for boost ahead of tough ties against Real and City

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Liverpool manager Arne Slot said fortune finally swung his team's way in their 2-0 home victory over Aston Villa that ended a woeful four-game English Premier League losing streak that had piled pressure on the Reds.

Mohamed Salah became the third player in Liverpool history to score 250 goals when he struck in first-half injury time, and Ryan Gravenberch scored in the second half after missing three games with an ankle injury in only their second win in eight matches across all competitions.

"The margins are small every single game - today after five minutes they (Morgan Rogers) hit the post," Slot told BBC Match of the Day. "We didn't concede a set piece, which was helpful, but also we got a bit lucky, which hasn't happened recently. Our second goal was a deflection.

"When (Villa) hit the post, that was their biggest chance. The last few weeks, every time that ball went in, now it didn't."

Salah, who has been criticised for his slow start to the season, capitalised on a huge blunder from Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who played the ball right into the path of Liverpool's talisman.