Liverpool were rescued by a later Luis Suarez goal to deny Aston Villa victory at Anfield today.
The Reds trailed from the 10th minute after Chris Herd had Villa in front but managed to restore parity with eight minutes remaining to avoid a fourth straight Premier League defeat.
The draw kept Liverpool in eighth position on the table whilst a brave Villa were denied maximum points which would have seen them kick well clear of the drop zone.
Australian midfielder Herd had the visitors ahead ten minutes in when he managed to curl in Barry Bannan's cut back pass after Reds gloveman Doni, in his first appearance for the club, flapped at Stephen Warnock's leftwing cross.
Liverpool dominated possession and had plenty more goal attempts than their rivals but were unable to breach Shay Given and his defence until the 82nd minute when Suarez nodded home from close range after Daniel Agger's initial header from Steven Gerrard's cross deflected off the underside of the crossbar.
It was kind of a 'get out of jail' performance from Liverpool who trailed all game until the end against a side who have triumphed just twice in 2012 and the showing from Kenny Dalglish's men won't do much to ease the criticism as Alex McLeish's charges breathe a sigh of relief for another week.
TRIBAL ASKS: What do Liverpool need to return to the top few clubs in the league? A summer cleanout? A new manager? What?
Liverpool: 1 (Luis Suarez 82') Aston Villa: 1 (Chris Herd 10')
Anfield, Liverpool - 44,231
Yellow cards:LIV - Luis Suarez 77' AV - Samir Carruthers 88'
