Liverpool moved nine points clear of Manchester City with a comfortable 3-1 win.

Fabinho broke the deadlock after just seven minutes when he drilled a shot from the edge of the box that had Claudio Bravo well beaten in the visitors’ goal.

Mohamed Salah doubled the Reds’ lead courtesy of an Andy Robertson cross which took a lucky bounce away from Fernandinho and onto the Egyptian’s head.

After the break, Sadio Mane put Jurgen Klopp’s side further ahead as he met Jordan Henderson’s delivery into the far post with a diving header.

But Bernardo pulled one back for City late on from a cross by Angelino to give the reigning Premier League champions a faint glimmer of hope.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Mind the gap, Reds

 

Tempting as it might be to warn Manchester City of being left behind by a growing points gap, Liverpool themselves have as much cause for concern.

Nine points currently separate the Premier League leaders from its reigning champions but Jurgen Klopp’s side must not be resting on their laurels.

Last season, they held a commanding lead in the title race before losing to City at the Etihad Stadium in early January. Everyone knows what what happened next.

A seven-point margin turned into a one-point deficit over a matter of weeks and Anfield’s lengthy wait to taste domestic glory ticked over into yet another year.

The Reds appear more battle-hardened than in that previous campaign, where a combination of injuries and a lack of cutting edge gifted City the title impetus.

But the warnings from history must still be heeded after they extended their advantage over their closest challengers to nine points with this victory.

Lovren shines under the spotlight

 

More often than not, Dejan Lovren simply cannot help himself.

A poor performance here, an overblown personal boast there; the Croatia international’s Anfield career has been spent making a rod for his own back.

Yet when Liverpool needed a reassuring presence in central defence against City’s star-studded attack, Lovren stepped up to the plate in an impressive fashion.

He kept Sergio Aguero quiet and was able to stop Raheem Sterling in his tracks with a block tackle in the second half as the visitors attempted to gain a foothold.

The latter drew a visceral reaction from the former Southampton man, who celebrated the challenge as if he had scored in front of The Kop again.

It was one of those rare occasions where everything Lovren touched turned to gold and vindicated Klopp’s refusal to sanction a move to Serie A last summer.

Anfield still gets inside Pep’s head

 

Pep Guardiola’s inability to keep Liverpool’s name out of his mouth has become evident during an array of back-handed compliments and thinly-veiled barbs.

Anfield clearly irks City’s highly-decorated and equally revered manager to the point that he appears to take leave of his sense whenever in its presence.

His frantic demeanour on the touchline as his side failed to catch a break against their resilient hosts was not a familiar scene from the often placid Catalan.

But City themselves are just as prone to falling under the stadium’s spell.

This latest defeat, Guardiola’s fourth at Liverpool’s home in all competitions, compounded their solitary win on the red half of Merseyside in the past 38 years.

Aguero, in particular, must dread whenever City make their annual trip across the M62 after failing to find the target for a ninth consecutive appearance.

Maybe Liverpool are ‘living rent-free’ in Guardiola’s head after all.

Midfield maestros get their dues

 

Knitting together Liverpool’s defence and attack is a largely thankless task.

Fabinho may have risen to prominence of late but his midfield cohorts Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson have been overlooked for the plaudits.

That all changed in an instant with City’s visit as the pair made compelling cases to vie alongside the Brazilian enforcer for the game’s Man of the Match award.

Wijnaldum was behind numerous counter-attacks and switched the play effortlessly, most notably as Henderson teed up Sadio Mane for Liverpool’s third.

The captain offered his own strong account, often driving down the right-hand side to cause City problems alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold’s continual threat.

As for Fabinho, who said Liverpool’s midfielders don’t score goals…?