Mohamed Salah always thought Liverpool would experience teething problems after a busy transfer window, having helped the Reds end their losing streak against Aston Villa.

Salah scored his 250th goal for the club as Arne Slot's team beat Villa 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday, a result that came on the back of four straight Premier League defeats.

Salah also reached 276 Premier League goal involvements for Liverpool (188 goals, 88 assists) – the joint-most by any player for a single club in the competition, alongside Wayne Rooney for Manchester United.

Ryan Gravenberch added a deflected second goal just before the hour to make the point safe, as Liverpool climbed from 10th in the table to third.

After spending big to acquire the likes of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giovani Leoni, Salah did not expect a flawless start.

He told TNT Sports: "I've played football for many years. I said it would be a tricky season for us, with a few new players.

"They are very good signings, but they need time to adapt to the whole team, and we lost a few good players as well. We need time to adapt and know each other's games, and everything will be fine."

Asked about reaching 250 goals for Liverpool, something only previously achieved by Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285), Salah said: "It's a great feeling to score goals and win trophies for this big club. It's something I don't take for granted. I'm so proud."

Slot, meanwhile, said his team had provided a timely reminder of their quality after slipping behind Arsenal in the title race.

"What I liked most was everybody here felt the importance of the game," Slot said.

"I'm talking about my players and the fans. The players showed up – although Villa had their chance, which hit the post. 

"The fans and players felt this was the moment to show we're still there.

"It wasn't the first time we created a chance by a high press, and a mistake from them gave us the lead. Second half, we got another goal, a clean sheet. We were ready for it, against a team in very good form. It's a good result."