​Liverpool skipper Phil Thompson described Villa as "a very good side" after his team had run out 3-1 winners at Villa Park on Saturday. Then he added. "But we knew we were going to win."

The England international had contributed in full to a fascinating game that was played fractionally too fast for Liverpool's liking during the first half.

Villa looked almost the equal of the clinical league champions in that spell, but once their midfield trio, lacking the suspended Mortimer, had run themselves out, Liverpool took calm control and the chance of an upset disappeared minute by minute.

Complimented on their part in producing one of the most entertaining games seen at Villa Park this season. Thompson said: "A couple of years ago we used to get a lot of goalless draws away from Anfield and we used to take a lot of stick over it."

"That was in the days when everybody was talking about us in terms of machines and robots, but now it's changed and our entertainment value is very high."

Villa manager Ron Saunders agreed. "The first hour gave me tremendous satisfaction and everybody must have gone home thoroughly entertained."

Just for a while there was a possibility that Villa could stretch their 11-match unbeaten run still further. With McNaught playing probably his finest game in Villa's colours and with Evans also in top form, Liverpool's Dalglish and Johnson found it hard to make any worthwhile impression.

But Liverpool are where they are because they can capture something out of nothing and Ray Kennedy did just that after 53 minutes when he found himself temporarily alone about 25 yards out. A deceptively lazy swing of the left leg and the ball rocketed past a startled Rimmer to the corner of the net.

It was the first of three goals in five minutes. Villa took only 40 seconds to equalise through Little, but in the 60th minute Hansen restored Liverpool's lead when he got up unchallenged to head home a Case cross at the far post.

Effectively, that was the end of Villa's hopes. Liverpool slowed the game down to their own required pace, and added a third in the 74th minute when a mistake by Pejic his only one of the game left McDermott with plenty of time to beat Rimmer with an angled shot from about 18 yards.