The leaders were gifted the opening goal as defender Andres Garcia passed straight to Diogo Jota and the forward squared to Mohamed Salah for his 24th goal of the season.
But Arne slot’s side did not hold their advantage for long as they failed to clear a free-kick and Youri Tielemans thrashed in a volley to draw unai emery’s level.
And Liverpool switched off again as they appealed for a handball on John McGinn, only to see Ollie Watkins ghost into the box to head in on the stroke of half-time.
Ibrahima Konate was forced to clear off the line as Marcus Rashford, on his first Aston Villa start, skipped past Alisson to shoot from out wide before Liverpool drew level.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deflected shot beat Emi Martinez as Liverpool then chased victory, with substitute Derwin nunez blazing a golden chance over the cross bar, At the other end, Donyell Malen flashed a low shot past the post at the death.
But Liverpool’s second away draw in a row, after the Merseyside derby, opens the door to Arsenal – who would close Liverpool’s lead to five points if they beat West Ham on Saturday.