Reaction'We have to take the point and keep working' - Alexis Mac Allister on draw at Villa

The leaders went in front at Villa Park as Mohamed Salah finished from Diogo Jota’s assist just before the half-hour mark.

But the hosts turned that around to go ahead by the interval, Youri Tielemans’ equaliser followed by Ollie Watkins’ header.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deflected effort brought the Reds back on terms and there were chances at either end in the remainder but it stayed level.

• Read our match report from Villa Park here

Arne Slot’s men are therefore eight points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the Premier League summit, having now played one game more.

Read Mac Allister’s reaction to the result, speaking to Liverpoolfc.com post-match, below…

On whether it is a point Liverpool ‘can live with’…

Of course it’s not the best and we are a little bit disappointed with the result. But a point is a point, we have to take it and move on, because it’s going to be important at the end.

On the ebb and flow of both sides having good spells in the match…

Yeah, I think it was a crazy game. Maybe we didn’t control the game as much as we wanted, we were not patient enough in some moments. But they are a really good team, they are very intense as well and very strong. We are happy with the point, let’s say, and now we have to keep working because we have really important games coming up.

On the battle in midfield…

I think in the midfield area they have really good players, strong players like [John] McGinn. It was a tough battle but it was the game we expected from the beginning. I think we played the way we had to play, and a point is a point, as I said.

On Salah’s goals and assists tallies…

We are really happy with him because we know how important he is for the team, and we want to help him get the most goals and assists he can. Hopefully we can keep working, we can keep making those runs for him to pick those passes. Really happy for him.

On this being a particularly big week with two away games…

Yeah, definitely – we knew before this game that [they are] really important games. This one, Man City and Newcastle. We have to prepare, rest – because it’s going to be important and we don’t have much time to recover. Now it’s about resting and preparing the next game, that is going to be really tough.