Liverpool stopped the rot on Saturday with a 2-0 win over a hitherto in-form Aston Villa side.

Here are our Scout Notes from Anfield.

IS SALAH BACK?

Mohamed Salah (£14.2m) made it two goals in two matches on Saturday with the opening goal of the game.

He was given a huge helping hand, with Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m) providing the assist…

A milestone strike for Mo 🇪🇬👑 pic.twitter.com/wMoKEsNHEe

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 2, 2025

Last weekend, we wrote that his brilliantly taken goal masked another poor display. This week was different, with the Egyptian more like his old self. Yes, there were the odd runs down blind alleys and misplaced passes – there always are.

But he was sharper against Villa, his touch neater, and his vision better aligned. He’d picked out Cody Gakpo (£7.6m) for a back-post header across goal early in the match, set up Conor Bradley (£5.0m) with a knock-down, and then played in Gakpo again; the Dutchman managed to both needlessly stray offside and miscontrol the ball.

Salah’s goal was his only real big opportunity of the game, and it was handed to him on a plate, but as we noted after the Brentford match, his underlying numbers are heading back in the right direction:

Above: Salah is top for shots among midfielders over the last five Gameweeks; he was joint-24th in Gameweeks 1-5

SZOBOSZLAI THE PICK OF THE BUNCH YET AGAIN

Gakpo’s numbers remain pretty good, too, with the Netherlands international registering more shots here (four) than anyone on show.

He remains comfortably ahead of Salah for non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI) this season, although raw numbers aside, his performances have dipped in recent weeks. If Florian Wirtz (£8.0m), benched on Saturday, has designs on breaking back into the side, it’s probably going to be on the left flank.

It certainly won’t be at the expense of Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.5m), Liverpool’s player of the season. The Hungarian’s utility man status can be a deterrent regarding his FPL appeal: he’s started three games at right-back this season, plus another two in central midfield.

Here, though, he was back in ’10’ role, and unsurprisingly more threatening as a result. His 23rd-minute effort, while technically outside the box, was Liverpool’s best unconverted chance of the game, but the Hungarian produced a tame finish.

Fizzing another effort a few feet wide and testing Martinez with a free-kick on either side of that opportunity, he also created a match-best three chances. It was Szoboszlai who crossed for Hugo Ekitike‘s (£8.6m) offside goal, too.

Two attacking returns all season isn’t a convincing selling point but he did bag 16 of them in 2024/25 to suggest he’s capable of it. One to watch ahead of the Liverpool fixtures improving from Gameweek 12.

VILLA PLAY INTO LIVERPOOL’S HANDS

So, then, are Liverpool back on track?

It was certainly more positive. Alexis Mac Allister (£6.3m) and Bradley, two of the biggest (and unfittest) performers of the season so far, were improved. Andrew Robertson (£5.8m) also came in and provided a less chaotic performance than Milos Kerkez (£5.8m) had been serving up.

Ryan Gravenberch (£5.6m) returned and unsurprisingly made a big difference, too, also showcasing the extra attacking license he’s been granted this season by striding forward to put Liverpool 2-0 up. He’s already had as many shots on target (five) as he had in the whole of 2024/25!

Villa’s xG was the second-lowest (after Burnley) that any team has managed against the reigning champions all season.

But let’s not rush to proclaim that Liverpool are ‘back’.

Even Slot admitted after full-time that the Reds were “lucky”, with the goals coming from two Villa passing errors. Gravenberch’s effort was deflected, too.

At the other end, the Villans, while subdued, twice hit the woodwork through Morgan Rogers (£6.8m) and Matty Cash (£4.6m).

“Maybe we were a bit more on the lucky side than we’ve been in the last few weeks, where, in my opinion, we were also unlucky. So, the mistake of their goalkeeper and the deflection led to two of our goals. These are the margins we are talking about. I think in other games we’ve created more from open play than we did today. But in football, it’s about results, not about the chances you create from open play.” – Arne Slot

You’d have to question Villa’s naive tactical approach, too. Why, when the Reds have struggled with direct play in recent weeks, would you self-sabotage and insist on playing out from the back?

A rare off-day for the Villans, then, after their excellent four-match winning run.

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