Liverpool took a huge step in their top four charge with a 3-1 victory away to Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
The Reds led 2-0 at the half-time break through Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk.
Ollie Watkins pulled a goal back for the hosts with 30 minutes left but Stefan Bajcetic secured the three points for the visitors with his first senior goal for the club, a belated Christmas present for the 18-year-old and his manager.
The result means that Jurgen Klopp's side still sit sixth, five points behind Tottenham Hotspur and just one point behind Manchester United, who face Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
They sit seven points behind Manchester City who face Leeds United on Wednesday and 12 points behind leaders Arsenal, who play West Ham on Saturday evening.
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Story of the match
The hosts were out of the blocks the quickest, when Ollie Watkins connected with Emiliano Buendia's pass and got a shot away, which Alisson saved to his right.
Liverpool were ahead after just five minutes, the ball fell to Trent Alexander-Arnold after being cleared from a corner, and the right-back launched a superb ball to Andy Robertson who squared for Salah.
The Scottish full-back broke the record for Premier League assists for a defender (54) after previously being level with former Everton man Leighton Baines (53).
The Reds' defence was breached twice by Watkins after they went ahead but Alisson was quick to react both times, the first from point-blank range was offside, the second was a simple save for a goalkeeper of the Brazilian's calibre.
The first twenty minutes were end-to-end, when Douglas Luiz fouled Robertson, the Scot stepped up from the resulting free-kick and found Joel Matip, who scored however the flag was raised for offside.
The home fans were screaming for a penalty when Alexander-Arnold challenged Lucas Digne in the area, but the referee waved their appeals away and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain put Darwin Nunez through one-on-one with Robin Olsen who managed to block the volley with his legs.
Klopp's side were in the ascendancy for the rest of the first-half and pushed for a second.
Just after the half hour mark, Salah was played in-behind the hosts' defence by Jordan Henderson, but his near-post effort was off-target.
The Egyptian then found Nunez, who attempted to square the ball to Robertson for an easy tap-in, but it was cut-out before the offside flag was raised against the Uruguyuan.
The former SL Benfica forward was onside though when Oxlade-Chamberlain gave him the ball on the left flank, he eventually found his way into the box, cut inside and his shot was saved, nearly finding Salah.
From the resulting corner, Van Dijk smashed the ball home with the help of an Ezri Konsa deflection after Alexander-Arnold's ball had drifted to the back-post.
After the restart, Watkins finally put the ball in the visitor's net but the flag was raised for offside after he dragged the ball across Alisson into the far corner.
The hosts pushed for a way back into the match, first Digne found John McGinn unmarked at the far post but he could only head into the floor straight at Alisson before Buendia fired a long-range effort into the side netting.
Liverpool broke from a Villa free-kick, with Salah taking the ball from his own half to the hosts penalty box, but Olsen denied him at the near post.
The Villians were undeterred by the potential for a counter-attack against them, as former Everton man Digne broke through The Reds' defence and fired a comfortable effort at the keeper.
The hosts finally broke through with an hour gone.
Watkins, who had been dangerous throughout the contest, headed across Alisson in via the far post after getting in-between Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold.
In response to the goal, Harvey Elliott and Naby Keita replaced Thiago Alcantara and Oxlade-Chamberlain as Klopp attempted to reassert The Reds' control on the contest.
Nunez had a chance to settle the game with 15 minutes to go but he could only drag his shot wide after he was played through by a stunning Salah pass from within his own half.
Joe Gomez and Bajcetic then replaced Henderson and Alexander-Arnold as Liverpool attempted to hold onto what would be a much needed victory.
The 18-year-old midfielder made an almost immediate impact, taking the ball past Konsa and Olsen and firing through Tyrone Mings' legs to score his first senior goal for the club after persistent work from Nunez kept the ball in-play.
Villa responded with a triple substitution, as Danny Ings, Philippe Coutinho and Leander Dendoncker replaced Boubacar Kamara, Buendia and Leon Bailey.
17-year-old Ben Doak replaced Nunez for the last three minutes of the match plus stoppage time, to make his first Premier League appearance for The Reds.
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Player of the match
It was a really hard pick between Alexander-Arnold, Robertson and Nunez.
The first two for their creative performances, and the attacker for his determination and ability to get behind the defence and create chaos despite missing chances.
The 24-year-old gets the nod however, he featured in just one of England's five matches at the World Cup in Qatar, playing just 33 minutes from the bench.
However, he showed Gareth Southgate exactly what he could have offered with a stunning outside of the foot pass to begin the move for The Reds' first goal.
The right-back created two chances, accumulated 0.60xA (only Robertson created more with 0.72) and made 14 passes into the final third and nine progressive passes.
If he returns from the break in this type of creative form, then Liverpool have a huge asset in their race for a top four place and potentially a late title charge.