Mind the gap. It looks unbridgeable now: 11 points to Arsenal, a barely credible 20 to Manchester City. A title race that began with City as red-hot favourites could be almost over before February is. The dominant team this season, Liverpool were vastly superior at the Etihad Stadium.
With Arne Slot borrowing from Pep Guardiola’s tactical blueprint to outwit the master with his twin false nines, with the magnificent Mohamed Salah underlining his credentials to win the individual awards, with Dominik Szoboszlai delivering perhaps the finest display of his Liverpool career, with Virgil van Dijk marshalling a defence that had conceded too often in the last two-and-a-half months to deliver a display of defiance, this felt like the victory that ended any doubt. A 20th league title is bound for Anfield.
