Liverpool moved to second in the Premier League with a win over Brentford.
Mohamed Salah broke the deadlock late in the first half as he was teed up by Darwin Nunez, who saw two goals disallowed by VAR, for a simple finish.
The Egyptian added a second early in the second half when he met Kostas Tsimikas’ cross at the byline with a well-taken header to beat Mark Flekken.
Jurgen Klopp’s side went further ahead during the closing stages with a subline long-range attempt drilled from the edge of the penalty area by Diogo Jota.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Reds ready to do battle with City
The international break could not arrive at a worse possible time for Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s side racked up their 11th unbeaten Premier League outing from 12 this season against Brentford in a clinical and comfortable display.
Downing a team that were seeking a club-record fourth straight win in the top flight makes the Reds’ feat all the more impressive after such a testing week.
Frustrated at Luton and stunned in Toulouse, the Reds risked falling into a similar trap against the Bees, who made their hosts work in the early stages.
But one point is now all that separates them from Manchester City ahead of a genuine top-of-the-table clash when club football resumes on November 25.
Arguably, Liverpool will be in finer fettle after injuries and suspension saw the substitutes’ bench for this game consisting of seven players aged 20 or under.
On the pitch they look as well-oiled a machine as at any point since Klopp considered his squad to be ‘mentality monsters’ at the peak of their powers.
Their upcoming trip to the Etihad Stadium will determine how well-equipped this ‘Liverpool 2.0’ actually is but they appear ready to go toe-to-toe with City.
Van Dijk is officially back to his best
There were various standout performances in the red shirt on Sunday.
Mohamed Salah stole top billing by joining Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer as only the third player to score or assist in 15 consecutive home league outings.
Partner in crime Darwin Nunez, too, made a compelling case for the Man of the Match award despite seeing two first-half strikes disallowed by VAR.
Yet the pair’s attacking prowess was only made possible by Virgil van Dijk delivering his most imperious appearance for some considerable time.
Whenever the visitors attempted to stage counterattacks through the constant threat of Bryan Mbeumo, the Netherlands captain proved a thorn in his side.
No matter how many times the Bees attempted to sting, Van Dijk swatted them away with vital interceptions, clearances and winning possession duels.
He has often risen to the occasion, including after coming back from a lengthy knee injury, but Van Dijk’s latest exploits were a mark of his true resurgence.
Anfield gives Tierney both barrels
It would be fair to say that Paul Tierney is not Klopp’s favourite person.
He was never likely to be on the Christmas card list after the Liverpool manager received a touchline ban for making outspoken remarks in April.
Judging by the Greater Manchester official’s most recent visit to Anfield, it seems that antipathy extends far beyond Klopp and the home dugout.
Tierney was never likely to get an easy ride in refereeing this game but a series of contentious calls either side of the interval firmly drew fans’ ire.
The Kop was fully braced to deliver both barrels once they felt that decisions had unfairly gone against them and did so when the moments warranted it.
An unnecessary booking for Joel Matip after colliding with Christian Norgaard on the halfway line sparked demands for Tierney to vacate L4 post-haste.
Kopites only deviated from that stance to sarcastically chant ‘We love you Tierney, we do’ when their side were awarded a free kick late in the first half.
By then, Klopp’s charges were already a goal to the good but this win is unlikely to smooth relations between Tierney and the red half of Merseyside.