Liverpool 3-2 Aston Villa

Daniel Sturridge's first was a fine volley with the outside of his foot

Daniel Sturridge scored his first two goals since March as Liverpool beat Aston Villa in an entertaining game.

Reds midfielder James Milner opened the scoring after 66 seconds against his former club from 20 yards.

Striker Sturridge doubled their lead after the break with a volley following a one-two with Milner, but Rudy Gestede pulled one back from close range.

Sturridge scored his second from Philippe Coutinho's pass, but Gestede gave Villa hope with a fine header.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers had been under pressure after six games without a win, other than Wednesday's League Cup penalty shootout victory over Carlisle.

• Read how Liverpool beat Aston Villa minute-by-minute here.

• Follow reaction to all of Saturday's action here.

Has this relieved the pressure on Rodgers?

Liverpool's title challenge two seasons ago under Rodgers seems a long time ago now

Slightly, but probably not that much.

There were plans for Liverpool fans to dress up as Jurgen Klopp, the former Borussia Dortmund coach who some would like to see replace Rodgers, though there was little evidence this came to fruition.

Liverpool will be happy to have ended such a poor run and move up to seventh in the Premier League - but they were made to work for victory against one of the worst sides in the division.

The Reds played some decent football for their goals, but they were caught out by Villa twice. Their next Premier League games - against Everton, Tottenham and Southampton - could go a long way to deciding Rodgers's future.

Is man-of-the-match Sturridge back to top form?

The huge boost from this game for Liverpool was the return of Sturridge's name to the scoresheet. The England international was making his second appearance since recovering from hip surgery.

While he still has some fitness to gain before reproducing the form that saw him score 24 goals in 2013-14, he was the reason Liverpool won this game.

His first strike was a brilliant volley with the outside of his foot, and the second a calm finish after a one-two with Coutinho, who backheeled the ball to him.

The 26-year-old had two chances to complete his hat-trick in the final 10 minutes. First he failed to beat Micah Richards on the edge of the box, something a fully fit Sturridge might have been able to do. Then he forced a good low save from Brad Guzan who tipped his effort past the post.

Rodgers said: "Sturridge showed what we missed for over a year - he makes the difference and helps you compete. His finishes were brilliant.

"He's nowhere near 100% fit yet. There was a couple of moments when he'd be away at his best but wasn't today. His two goals were the difference."

Can Gestede keep Villa up?

Rudy Gestede (39) was Villa's most attacking player - but he barely played beyond the halfway line on average - as this average position graphic shows

Gestede, who replaced the injured Gabriel Agbonlahor in the line-up, was the only reason Villa - who played quite defensively - ran Liverpool so close at Anfield.

The Birmingham side, who were unbeaten on their last four trips to Anfield, have now picked up four points from seven games and drop into the relegation zone.

They had only four shots on target against the Reds, with Gestede, a summer signing from Blackburn, scoring both of his - to take him up to four for the season.

His first was a close-range scramble and his second a brilliant towering header as he beat centre-back Mamadou Sakho to a Jordan Amavi cross.

'Players are behind Rodgers'

Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva: "We wanted to win for the manager. We know what has been said about him and I think we showed we are a group of players behind him and trying to make everything right. The pressure is on him but we wanted to play the way he wanted us to play and I think we did that."

Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood: "We can't score two away from home and lose - it happened against Leicester as well. You score twice at Anfield and you expect to leave with something. I've told the boys the goals were avoidable and we have to tighten up - Liverpool did not have to work too hard to get them, and we have to put that right.

"Our performances have merited better than one win in seven games but I said from the start it would be an uphill struggle. We need to stay in the division and if we do we will be stronger next year."

The stats you need to know

• Milner's first goal for Liverpool was the quickest Premier League strike this season.

• There were 70 seconds between Rudy Gestede's first goal of the game and Daniel Sturridge's second.

• Sturridge has now scored in four consecutive Premier League games against Aston Villa.

• Since August 2013, Gestede has scored 21 headed goals in the league, six more than any other player in the English top four tiers.

What's up next?

Villa host Stoke in the Premier League next Saturday, while Liverpool are at home to Sion in the Europa League on Thursday - before Sunday's Merseyside derby at Everton.