Jurgen Klopp hailed teenager Stefan Bajcetic as being "cheeky like hell" after the Spaniard's goal sealed Liverpool's third Premier League win in succession.
Bajcetic, who only turned 18 a couple of months ago, came on as Liverpool were holding onto a 2-1 lead but pounced in the 81st minute to ease Klopp's nerves.
"I think he showed what he can do," said the Liverpool manager. "He is cheeky like hell, not worried about anything, just plays football and does it exceptionally well. He has a football player father so the genes are there. The attitude and awareness are really big and he is a big pleasure to work with."
The Bajcetic strike came after good work from Darwin Nunez, who received the Man of the Match award despite missing a handful of decent chances.
Klopp said: "Incredible, what a game he played. But then life is unfair. One foot, one inch, maybe less, decides if the ball goes in or not. But he will score no doubt about that.
"He gives us depth, he is really tricky. He has power that is incredible. He will score in these situations very often. In this game, he was exceptional."
Andy Robertson's 54th Premier League assist - a new record - helped Mohamed Salah open the scoring and Virgil van Dijk doubled Liverpool’s lead before half-time.
But Ollie Watkins' header just before the hour mark gave Villa hope… until Bajcetic made his telling intervention.
While this was the 18-year-old’s first Liverpool goal, it was Salah's 172nd, putting him level with Sir Kenny Dalglish in seventh on the all-time Liverpool list.
"If your name can be mentioned in the same sentence as Sir Kenny Dalglish's, you are doing something right," said Klopp.
