Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa as the Premier League leaders dropped points to give Arsenal hope in the title race, Sky Sports reported.

Substitute Darwin Nunez had a great chance to score a late winner but blazed over as Trent Alexander-Arnold's second-half deflected strike earned Liverpool a point to stretch their advantage to eight points having played a game more than Arsenal.

Ollie Watkins headed Villa into the lead just before half-time as they came from behind after gifting Mohamed Salah the opener, but the visitors were only ahead for nine minutes before Youri Tielemans equalized.

Liverpool now face big games at Manchester City this Sunday and Newcastle in the Premier League as the title race hots up, with Arsenal knowing they can close the gap to five points.

Aston Villa remain in ninth, four points away from fifth, which as it stands would be enough to secure Champions League football, after pushing the leaders all the way despite a host of defensive injuries.