After starting his Villa career with a couple of substitute appearances, Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford was presented with his first start alongside fellow winter addition Marco Asensio.
The pair nearly got their new team off to a perfect start, exchanging a neat one-two before Rashford’s cross was diverted into the net by Virgil van Dijk, who would have been relieved to see the assistant’s raised flag.
Unfortunately for Villa, another January signing, Andrés García, played a decisive role in the game’s opening goal for all the wrong reasons.
The full-back mistakenly passed the ball straight to the grateful Diogo Jota, who squared it for Mohamed Salah to guide home his 24th PL goal of the season.
Given the costly nature of his error, García would have been the most relieved individual in Villa Park when Youri Tielemans restored parity in the 38th minute, drilling his left-foot strike into the ground and past the helpless Alisson Becker after Liverpool failed to clear their lines from Rashford’s whipped free-kick.
The hosts kept the pressure on the title hopefuls to complete a remarkable turnaround before the HT interval, with Ollie Watkins linking up with Lucas Digne to create the opportunity to steer a controlled header into the bottom corner.
After being stunned in the closing stages of the first period, Arne Slot’s charges demonstrated immense character to pull themselves back onto level terms just past the hour mark.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was the beneficiary of a wicked deflection, helping him net his second league goal of the season moments after Jota had clipped the crossbar.
Both teams threatened to carve out a winner in a thrilling final half-hour, including a nervy moment for the visitors when Jacob Ramsey slotted home before being denied by the offside flag.
Donyell Malen came inches away from stealing the points in stoppage time, but ultimately, the two sides had to make do with a share of the spoils, extending Liverpool’s lead over Arsenal to eight points and leaving the ninth-placed hosts five adrift of the top four.