Liverpool returned to winning ways with a 3-1 dismantling of Tottenham.
Roberto Firmino ended an eight-hour goal drought for Jurgen Klopp’s side when he broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time with a simple finish.
A second followed for the Reds shortly after the interval as Trent Alexander-Arnold pounced on Hugo Lloris’ fumbling a Sadio Mane effort into his path.
The hosts attempted to redress the balance within two minutes through Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who rifled home a shot from the edge of the area..
But the Reds wrapped up their victory with poacher turning provider as Alexander-Arnold’s cross-field ball found Mane to power home a third.
Just four points now separate the reigning Premier League champions from leaders Manchester City at the summit after a first win since December 19.
Here were the key talking points from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
Reds finally stop the rot
It felt like an eternity since Liverpool last excelled in a Premier League game.
Scoring, let alone winning, had become an uphill struggle for the champions since plundering seven goals against Crystal Palace shortly before Christmas.
But the Reds’ previously ailing title defence is now showing signs of recovery.
They put Spurs to the sword with such ruthlessness that the previous 41 days without a league win – and 31 without finding the target – felt like an illusion.
Jurgen Klopp offered no guarantees that his side would arrest their recent slump heading to north London on the back of a five-game winless streak.
This resurgence may still be short-lived, with a run of games that includes Manchester City, Leicester, Everton and West Ham set to test their resolve.
Finally stopping the rot, however, should stand Liverpool in good stead for it.
TAA back in the groove
Scrutiny invariably gravitates towards homegrown players when the chips are down and Trent Alexander-Arnold has endured more than his fair share lately.
Prior to Liverpool’s mid-season malaise, the West Derby-born defender had been one of the more notable components within Klopp’s team of all talents.
On his day, Alexander-Arnold is unrivalled as one of the finest right-backs currently in the game. This proved to be exactly one of those occasions.
He produced killer passes in the final third so regularly that it came as no surprise the 22-year-old also found time to get in on the action himself.
Impressive as the strike was, his beguiling ball which caught out Joe Rodon in the build-up to Sadio Mane notching Liverpool’s third outstripped it.
Even with his recent downturn, no Premier League defender has produced more goals and assists since the start of last season than Alexander-Arnold.
Now he is back in the groove, that tally of 21 is only likely to keep rising.
Matip loss makes January dash vital
January is a notoriously poor market for new signings, which explains why Klopp remains apprehensive about making moves in the current window.
Yet the Liverpool manager is running out of options as much as time before Monday’s 11pm deadline with the centre-back position decimated once more.
Fabinho missed the trip to the capital on account of a muscle issue while Joel Matip’s bowed out during half time with suspected ankle ligament damage.
Matip’s injury fragility has been an longstanding issue in his Anfield career and compounded by completing back-to-back league games just once this season.
Liverpool were already down to bare bones before their last established senior central defender joined Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk on the treatment table.
If the extent of Matip’s latest setback is as severe as initially feared, Klopp will need to make a late trolley dash to the January sales to tide them over.
VAR: a case of give and take
Steven Spielberg said it best when he called technology both a best friend and the biggest party pooper. Liverpool already know exactly what he means.
Since the Premier League’s implementation of VAR 18 months ago, it has been as much a bane to them as it has been an occasional shot in the arm.
A microcosm of that love-hate relationship played out against Jose Mourinho’s side, first as Son Heung-min’s third-minute opener was disallowed for offside.
The South Korean can have no arguments about the ruling, and neither can Roberto Firmino as he set up Mohamed Salah’s similarly chalked-off goal.
Whether accidental or intentional, Firmino’s handball when tussling with Eric Dier before his attacking cohort struck was picked up by the adjuducation system.
It was the sixth time Liverpool have seen a goal disallowed through VAR this season; more than any other Premier League side in the previous campaign.
How near to the summit they are by the end of the current one remains uncertain yet they will almost certainly be topping at least one table in May.