Sharjah24 – Reuters: Steven Gerrard's return to Anfield as Aston Villa manager ended in a 1-0 defeat by Liverpool with a 67th minute Mohamed Salah penalty keeping the Merseysiders a point behind Premier League leaders Manchester City.

There was little fanfare for Gerrard, the Liverpool-born former captain and Champions League winner, as he took his place in the technical area and from the opening moments it was clear that he had set his side up well to frustrate his old club.

Liverpool dominated the first half with Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez doing well to save efforts from Andy Robertson and Salah.

After the break, Martinez produced a brilliant reflex stop to keep out a powerful header from Virgil van Dijk but Liverpool's pressure finally paid off when Salah went down in the box under challenge from Tyrone Mings.

The Egyptian fired home an unstoppable spot-kick to secure the win for Juergen Klopp's side. Liverpool are on 37 points with leaders City, who beat Wolves 1-0 earlier on Saturday, on 38 points.