Liverpool came from behind to secure a very hard-earned draw at Aston Villa on Wednesday evening. Trent Alexander-Arnold struck a deflected second-half equaliser after Mohamed Salah's opener had been wiped out before the break by Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins.

The result means the Reds are now eight points clear of Arsenal at the Premier League summit but have now played a game more than the Gunners.

Here the ECHO rates the Liverpool players on a difficult occasion for Arne Slot's side.

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Alisson Becker 6

Early straightforward claims but some of his passing out from the back was unnecessarily risky and decision-making not always great. No chance with either goal, though.

Trent Alexander-Arnold 6

Stood up to challenge of Rashford before break and some useful passes forward. Lost his way rather second half before thumping in leveller. Subbed.

Ibrahima Konate 7

Needed to defend on front foot throughout as Villa sought quick counters and a little unlucky when attempting to deal with equaliser. Cleared off line from Rashford second half.

Virgil van Dijk 6

Villa sought to keep the game away from him first half while diagonals not always on point. Much more proactive and accurate after interval.

Andy Robertson 7

Decent enough in both directions before break and cross invited chance for Salah. Kept going second half and had shot deflected wide. Good display.

Ryan Gravenberch 5

Predominantly in a defensive role but didn’t offer very much and looked tired, failing to close down Digne for Villa second. Improved second half but again not massive influence.

Alexis Mac Allister 6

Suffered buffeting first half but wasn’t deterred and passing started to pull Villa around. Became a bit bogged down after break but good ball sparked equaliser. Subbed.

Mohamed Salah 8

Off target with one header but made amends with composed finish for opener and consistently got better of Digne, and assisted second goal. Never stopped working.

Dominik Szoboszlai 6

Plenty of energy and excellent in the press and denied chance by Martinez but didn’t do enough on ball first half. Couldn’t get sufficient purchase on header to clear Villa equaliser and could have shot for Nunez chance.

Curtis Jones 7

Ostensibly started on left but regularly popped up in middle, where he created chance for Szoboszlai and struck wide after one strong run. Ability to keep ball made difference second half.

Diogo Jota 6

Constant pest to Villa defence with two half-chances early on before calm assist for the opener. Poor miss shortly before interval, however, but close when hitting bar second half. Subbed.

SUBS

Conor Bradley (for Alexander-Arnold 66) 7

Excellent pass released Szoboszlai for chance and dogged defensively. Injury a big worry. Subbed.

Darwin Nunez (for Jota 66) 3

Missed an open goal, misplaced one pass from good position and so many wrong calls. One of those nights.

Luis Diaz (for Mac Allister 80)

Barely involved.

Jarell Quansah (for Bradley 89)

Forced into action late on.