A win would mean the Reds had picked up three victories in a row for the first time this season and they went after all three points right from the start; Luis Garcia almost opening the scoring after a neat passing move outside the Villa box set him up. Unfortunately the Spaniard fired his shot just past Thomas Sorenson's post.
The best chance of the first half fell to Djibril Cisse but he could only shoot straight at Sorenson after being sent clear thanks to Steven Gerrard's 40 yard ball.
Villa offered little in return, only a Kevin Phillips header that sailed wide caused Pepe Reina any sort of concern. Former Red Milan Baros may have opened the scoring in the first half but he was denied the chance to get a shot on goal by a fantastic tackle by Jamie Carragher on the edge of the 18 yard box.
The second half started in the same vein but as it progressed Villa started to come back in the game and could have got a goal themselves, with Carragher again denying Baros and Reina saving from Angel.
Peter Crouch was introduced with 20 minutes to go and made an immediate impact. Firstly he set Gerrard up at the edge of the box with a neat little pull back then he headed fellow subsitute Bolo Zenden's cross straight at Sorenson.
Crouch continued to plug away and got his rewards with six minutes to go when he was wrestled to the ground by Liam Ridgewell to earn the Reds a penalty which captain Steven Gerrard put away.
Xabi Alonso sealed the win in the 89th minute when he hammered the ball home through a crowded penalty area after Crouch had seen his original shot cleared.