A second-half onslaught saw Liverpool comfortably dispatch of Southampton.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain broke the deadlock with a low shot that saw Alex McCarthy rooted to the spot as it flew into his right-hand corner.

The Reds’ advantage was further extended on the hour mark when Jordan Henderson rounded off a flowing move to score with a close-range finish.

Henderson added an assist to his tally in the final stages as his perfectly weighted pass found Mohamed Salah to chip over McCarthy in the Kop goal.

Salah doubled his personal tally with another tidy finish as teammate Roberto Firmino racked up a hat-trick of assists for the afternoon in the process.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Reds march on to greatness

 

The records simply keep on tumbling for Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp’s side now hold the distinction of the second-highest run in Premier League history following their 42nd game without defeat.

Only Nottingham Forest team which went unbeaten from November 1977 until December 1978 remotely rivals them with the same number of matches.

Ironically Brian Clough’s future European champions lost their record to the Reds, whose modern-day incarnation are still in the hunt for greatness.

Should they see out a trip to Norwich City in a fortnight’s time, the champions-elect will continue to close in on Arsenal’s 49-game record.

More than that, though, they will equal Barcelona’s class of 2017/18, who hold the fifth-highest stretch in European football’s overall history.

If they can continue this impressive run, Liverpool will be on the verge of laying siege to AC Milan’s all-time record of 58 by the start of next season.

Salah puts Suarez in his sights

 

Mohamed Salah is making a habit of eclipsing former Kop heroes.

Already this week, he had usurped Fernando Torres’ 65 goals in the Premier League and now has another modern Liverpool icon firmly in his sights.

The Egyptian’s brace against Southampton saw him overtake Luis Suarez’s haul 69 Premier League goals despite two of them coming in Chelsea colours.

Should he fire another two goals in a red shirt, the controversial Uruguayan will join Torres in trailing in Salah’s wake as he zones in on the Golden Boot.

His 14th strike equalled that of Danny Ings, his opposite number in this encounter, and put him back among the pack hunting down Jamie Vardy.

Sooner rather than later, Salah will catch up to Leicester City’s fox in the box.

Another tough test negotiated

 

No one can legitimately argue that Liverpool’s unassailable march to the Premier League title has become an easy task over the past few weeks.

Successive midweek trips to Wolves and West Ham posed their own challenges and Southampton’s visit to Anfield continued that particular theme.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side had won the previous four games on their travels and looked to add a famous fifth by derailing an as yet unbeaten champions-elect.

Their hosts were routinely put under pressure in the first half, with Ings proving a point to his former employers in tandem with Shane Long.

Admittedly Liverpool did not help themselves with profligate finishing, notably when Virgil van Dijk chose to backheel a close-range effort in front of goal.

But the interval delivered a wake-up call for Klopp’s players, who reemerged for the second half with a familiar sense of purpose to their game plan.

Seven more wins will be enough to clinch a first title since 1990 and the leaders are going to need to negotiate similarly tough tests to achieve it.

Firmino still right at home

 

Plenty has been made of Roberto Firmino’s failure to score at Anfield.

On the road, he simply cannot stop scoring but are conspicious by their absence whenever the Brazil international steps out on home soil.

He is suffering a reverse of Gini Wijnaldum’s previous inability to score on his travels, but that does not mean that Firmino is labouring on his outings in L4.

A hat-trick of assists against the Saints proved that, first setting up Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s opener before providing two for Salah later in the half.

Link-up play has been the overriding highlight of Firmino’s five-year spell with Liverpool and remains integral as they swagger towards the title this season.

The 27-year-old may not find himself being celebrated by The Kop in the same way as Salah did yet his contribution is still valued incredibly highly.