Liverpool vs Aston Villa - Premier League RECAP: All the reaction as Arne Slot's champions FINALLY end torrid league run as Mo Salah and Ryan Gravenberch get side back on track

Alright, it's time for me to set you guys a homework assignments.

Lewis Steele and Dominic King were at Anfield for us tonight, and they've produced a couple of articles for you to get your teeth stuck into.

First up, we've got King's match report. Once you're done with that, why not check out Steele's player ratings? Then feel free to give your own assessment in the comments.

It's good to see Giorgi Mamardashvili get a seven. I've not been overly convinced by him, particularly compared to how Caoimhin Kelleher was, but he kept his first clean sheet for the club, so that's a step forward.

And who gets our man of the match with a nine?

That's all from me tonight, gang. Thanks for reading.

Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa: Visitors pay the price for poking the bear

DOMINIC KING AT ANFIELD: All Unai Emery would have wanted was for his players to turn Anfield into a doctor's waiting room, filled with tension, but instead they poked the bear.

Liverpool PLAYER RATINGS: Which Reds star was 'unplayable'?

LEWIS STEELE AT ANFIELD: Liverpool took the first step on their road to recovery on Saturday night as Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch netted in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

One thing that struck me in Steven Gerrard's analysis was his comment that Aston Villa got their tactics right tonight. In his opinion, it was just their sloppy errors which cost them.

I'd have to disagree, sadly. Arne Slot has admitted, for all to hear, that Liverpool have struggled recently against long balls. So why didn't Villa try a few more of those? Watkins would've been up for the physical challenge. He could've had Rogers running off him.

In the end, they created some decent chances, but I was puzzled by Villa's insistence to keep playing the same way.

Let's see what some of you have been writing tonight.

One reader writes in from Teesside: 'That was Liverpool of last season. Controlled most of the game. Same 11 for Tuesday please.'

Another from Knightsbridge says: 'Liverpool need time for new players to gel together. Once they do. They will be a force to compete against. What crisis?'

And a Daily Mail fan dials in from Amsterdam: 'I can watch Gravenberch spin and accelerate all day.'

Only Roberton, Slot, and Liverpool's fitness crew know how much the left-back has left to give.

He's 31 now. Clearly, with the signing of Milos Kerkez, the champions are phasing him out. Maybe they feel he cannot handle so many games.

But for me, he is still the club's best left-back. His slide tackle on Guessand in the first half was typical of his determination. He wasn't bad going forward, either, when asked.

As he's made clear, he won't go down without a fight.

Salah is now level with Wayne Rooney for the most goal involvements for a single Premier League club.

He's got a total of 276 goals and assists in this division fo the Reds and, unfortunately for Rooney, you suspect that record is going to be toppled soon.

A very philosophical take from Virgil van Dijk.

'I can tell you that even in good times, you have to keep going and not take your foot off the gas,' he said.

'What I've noticed over the last coupe of weeks is that thre ia lot of noise we have no control over. Some of the takes are absolutely ridiculous. Some of the outside noise can reach certain players and the group.

'I've been saying lot of the same things and maybe people get bored of it.

'We're not going out on the pitch to lose games or leave fans disappointed. We want to work our socks off. But it's not a guarantee (to win games) in the biggest league in the world. But you have to stay calm.

'It's time to keep working. Never get too high, never get too low. We live in a world, for footballers, where everyone can have their opinion on so many platforms and everyone knows better. We have to try and stay away.

'Lasy year, everything was sunshine and rainbows everywhere. This year, it sounds like we'll be in a relegation battle (but we won't).'

A very measured reaction from Unai Emery.

'Good evening. We can feel disappointed but we played the match like we planned,' he began.

'They were playing at home. They needed to react and they reacted.

'We faced them like we planned and the first 30 minutes we had chances to score. In that moment, we were positive and feeling good.

'The last 15 minutes of the 15 first half, we conceded a goal witht he mistake we made, and after that was difficult.

'We started the second half not so good and conceded a goal.

'After we reacted and competed and almost scored a goal. overall,w e accept the defeat, because we know it is difficult.

'We are still trying to adapt some players to our structure to be strong.'

Speaking to TNT Sports: On Gravenberch: 'I think he's able to go again but we have to see how he comes out of this game. It depends on his ankle.

'We have to be smart about minutes. We have 19, 20 players available. Normally three or four out. And they go to the national team as well.'

He added: 'Salah, I liked how he was strong every time we played a long ball, he helped the team. This is the Mo that I, he, and we want to see.'

Speaking to TNT Sports:

'What I liked most is that everybody felt the important of the game - the players and the fans. They felt this was the moment to show we are still there.

'In other games we have created more chances. Goals make a lot of difference in football. It wasn't the first time we made a chance from a high press.

'Second half, another goal, a clean sheet. A good result against a team in good form.

'As a football player I had many set-backs (so I can cope with recent form)! The margins are small in the Premier League.

'In other games we have conceded sloppy goals. Today, a big difference was not conceding a set-piece. Every Premier League game at the moment is about set-pieces.'

On the midfield three: 'They played a very good game. As a team and individually, it was a good performance. I saw some outstanding performances (across the pitch).'

Joe Cole said: 'The midfield three [Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai], it's so important that they stick together. They look so much better. The balance was right. Any team in the top six or eight, they have to play.'

You wonder what that means for Florian Wirtz...

Multiple qualities led Liverpool to victory tonight, says Steven Gerrard.

'They were physical. The steel was back, the work rate the intensity out of possession. All the good stuff came out of that,' he told TNT Sports.

'I thought Aston Villa got their tactics spot on but there were too many mistakes and Liverpool punished them for it.'

'They could have easily scored three or four,' added Steve McManaman.

This was a much-elevated performance from the Reds but I thought the return of this man made a huge difference.

One goal, three tackles (a team high), four interceptions (a team high), 90.2 per cent passing accuracy, and a key pass.

Colossal.