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NOT a great performance, but definitely a good one. In a match that felt as if it was being played in a snow globe, the Reds produced a display that was their most encouraging for some time.

I know that’s not saying much, but there were discernible signs of improvement for us to cling on to as we enter the New Year, desperate as we were for a Christmas rebirth which might lead to a resurrection of our Champions League hopes come next Easter.

While it might not have looked like the ideal fixture to trigger a leap in confidence, in truth our astonishing recent record at Villa Park (now unbeaten in 12 games) should have given us some comfort before the game, as we queued for the last remaining pies in what is surely the narrowest away fan concourse in the Premier League.

Cattle are treated more humanely than this – and are generally fed better too.

But the fear which has foreshadowed most of our recent fixtures just wouldn’t go away, as defeat here would have made Rafa’s bold guarantee of fourth place look like the most hopeless of New Year resolutions.

After an initial Villa flurry, it was gratifying to see the Reds gradually take control, and this time it was the ‘right sort’ of control, with some sharp passing movements threatening the Villa goal, if never quite putting their defence under sustained pressure.

No surprise to see Gerrard at the heart of this, looking more like his old self and producing a marvellous clipped shot that Friedel tipped over.

More unexpected was the role being played by Lucas in gaining and then retaining possession, the quality of his distribution in the conditions showing up some of his more esteemed colleagues.