Aston Villa held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw.

The Premier League leaders sacrificed points to give Arsenal hope in the race for the championship after Liverpool was held to a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa.

Darwin Nunez, a substitute, had a fantastic opportunity to score the game-winning goal late on, but he blasted wide as Trent Alexander-Arnold's deflected strike in the second half gave Liverpool a draw, increasing their lead to eight points after one more game than Arsenal.

"There is a truly depressed person in the changing room. Arne Slot seemed to be referring to Nunez when he told TNT Sports, "I think you know who it is," following the game.

After giving the opening goal to Mohamed Salah, Ollie Watkins gave Villa the lead just before halftime, but the visitors were only up for nine minutes before Youri Tielemans pulled even.

As the race for the title heats up, Liverpool now has important Premier League games against Newcastle and Manchester City, both of which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports this Sunday. Arsenal is confident they can cut the margin to five points.

After pushing the leads all the way despite a number of defensive injuries, Aston Villa is still in ninth place, four points from fifth, which would now be sufficient to guarantee Champions League football.

Soon after he equalised, Alexander-Arnold became enamoured and seemed dissatisfied with Slot's choice to substitute him with Conor Bradley, who was then forced off due to an injury 23 minutes after entering the game.

After a challenging first half, Villa rallied brilliantly, and Marcus Rashford, making his first start for the home team, was outstanding. The free kick that resulted in Tielemans' equaliser was won by the Manchester United loanee, whose curling attempt was blocked off the line.

After Villa tied the score, Diogo Jota had a fantastic opportunity to put Liverpool ahead again right away, but he utterly mishandled his shot when he was through on goal against Emi Martinez.

Villa's winter transfer window acquisition, Andres Garcia, was at fault for Liverpool's first goal when he gave the ball to Jota, who then squared for Salah to score his 24th league goal of the year. Villa had been poor in their build-up play, which had led to the goal.

"We are taking some risk and avoiding it a lot of the time," Villa manager Unai Emery told TNT Sports following the match. "Today they scored but we are not changing and will work to improve."

On the balance of play, both teams had to settle for a point, but Villa replacement Donyell Malen nearly broke Liverpool's undefeated away league record in stoppage time by flashing a shot wide of the post.

It remains to be seen if Liverpool will live to regret the missed opportunities. They are being pursued by an Arsenal squad without a striker, and they have already suffered one league loss this season. Their opponents' hopes will probably have diminished if they can weather the storm in their next two games.

Arne Slot, the manager of Liverpool, told TNT Sports that he was unhappy with the point:

"To be honest, I'm not really happy. We created opportunities to win and far more chances than they did. However, we also gave up a set-piece.

"It is not at all simple to lose 1-0. They may have won it in the closing seconds, but when you add together all of their chances, I am not thrilled with the 2-2 result. Their second chance was a goal, a cross.

"Where we stand in the league table is important, but if you're Liverpool, the pressure is constantly on. This season, we have everything we need to succeed.

"You must play the game as it develops; some require you to bring it out from the back, while others require you to play long ball. Even though they can return, you can see that there is one person in the dressing room who is depressed given the chances we had to win the game. I believe you are aware of who it is.

Unai Emery, the manager of Aston Villa, on his mistakes: We won't change

"You must wait for your opportunity to strike and seize opportunities, just like we did. Yes, we did. In the first half, we rallied because we were essentially competing well.

"Liverpool can score goals like they did when you are winning like that. In the last minute we had a chance to score. In the last 20 minutes, we had more chances to win.

"I see everything and I am trying to get the best," he added when asked about the mistake for Liverpool's opening goal. We frequently avoid it while taking certain risks. They scored today, but we're staying the same and will try to get better."

Van Dijk: We ought to have won
The defender for Liverpool Speaking to TNT Sports, Virgil van Dijk says:

"We quarrel, but I'm a little disappointed. We had opportunities to win the game, and by taking a small gamble at the end, it became more open at points. We make a point, move on, and then concentrate on a major one over the weekend.

"We performed admirably when in possession and created excellent chances to score the second. It's disappointing to lose a set-piece. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to score three points.

"We ought to have won 3-2, but we have to give Aston Villa credit for making it so hard.

"We know that Man City will be a really challenging game, so we will concentrate on them after our very tough game against Newcastle this Saturday.

"Do everything in your power to win games, the focus will be that on Sunday again."