Liverpool saw off Aston Villa to extend their Premier League advantage.
Darwin Nunez opened the scoring in the 20th minute by rounding Emiliano Martinez after Mohamed Salah had been stopped from a counterattack.
The visitors continued to push for a leveller but another Salah breakaway doubled the Reds’ lead as the Egyptian swept home in the closing stages.
Arne Slot’s side head into the international break with a five-point cushion in the title race following Manchester City’s loss to Brighton earlier on Saturday.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Reds hold firm in face of slip-ups
Aston Villa’s latest visit to Merseyside posed a potential conundrum.
Liverpool fans bounced through the turnstiles safe in the knowledge that they would see in the international break occupying the Premier League’s top spot.
How many points they would lead it by, however, was far less certain after Manchester City’s surprise defeat to Brighton earlier on Saturday evening.
The last time Kopites basked in the pre-match euphoria of Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions faltering, their team failed to fully take advantage of it.
A 1-1 draw with Leicester City in January 2019 saw the Reds move five points clear at the summit to five points but it was very much a missed opportunity.
Arne Slot’s side hold that same advantage over the Citizens but the current landscape is very different after passing their latest test with flying colours.
They had to work for the Dutchman’s 15th victory from 17 matches in all competitions by a Villa team who have more than proved their own mettle.
It remains early days but Anfield is finally starting to dare to dream again.
…but injury woes continue
If Slot does succeed in becoming Liverpool’s first coach since Sir Kenny Dalglish to win the title in his debut season, no one can argue it came easy.
The challenge of acclimitising to the club’s dugout has been exacerbated by an unprecedented spell of bad luck when it comes to injuries in his squad.
Three established first-teamers are currently on the treatment table alongside summer signing Federico Chiesa and that number is now set to swell further.
Trent Alexander-Arnold joined the casualty list when he was withdrawn shortly after Darwin Nunez had opened the scoring for the hosts at a counterattack.
Early indications suggest a hamstring injury was the root cause of that 25th minute departure, especially after he pointed to it in conversation with Slot.
Should that prognosis be realised, Alexander-Arnold’s absence for England during the upcoming international break will become a foregone conclusion.
The timing could not have been less fortunate, with seismic clashes against Real Madrid and City up ahead when club football resumes in a fortnight.
That Slot’s charges are excelling without their first-choice goalkeeper, forward and now potentially right-back available is nothing short of miraculous.
Robertson seizes his chance
Full-backs continued to dominate the agenda as Andy Robertson found himself restored to the starting line-up after a spell on the periphery.
Scotland’s captain has needed to bide his time with Slot handing understudy Kostas Tsimikas successive starts against Brighton and Bayer Leverkusen.
A difficult start to the season saw Robertson marginalised somewhat but he responded to this opportunity by seizing the mantle at both ends of the pitch.
He shackled Leon Bailey at a time when the visitors increasingly threatened to prove a thorn in the side of Liverpool’s defence, early in the second half.
Robertson married that shackling of the pacy Jamaica international with flashes of his attacking verve and should really have claimed an assist.
Unfortunately the recipient of his inch-perfect delivery after the interval was a misfiring Nunez, who could only head it wide of the target from close range.
But the Uruguayan’s profligacy did not take away from a businesslike overall display by Robertson which put his recent struggles into fresh perspective.
Much like several of his esteemed teammates, class really is permanent.