Liverpool downed Manchester City to extend their lead in the title race.

Cody Gakpo broke the deadlock after just 12 minutes by meeting Mohamed Salah’s beguiling cross to the far post to slot home in front of The Kop.

Salah went on to assure the Reds’ victory in the closing stages of the second half from the penalty spot after Stefan Ortega had brought down Luis Diaz

Arne Slot’s side moved 11 points clear of their North West rivals in the Premier League table while second-placed Arsenal are now nine adrift.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Reds deliver a perfect week

The last time Liverpool put Real Madrid to the sword in the Champions League, they followed it up with a dismantling of their Manchester rivals.

Ultimately, Rafael Benitez’s side fell short in their quest for both domestic and continental superiority but that perfect week still lives long in fans’ memories.

Some 15 years later, it is City rather than United who hold that position as Anfield’s bête noire but the outcome was still the same on Sunday afternoon.

Fresh from sending Los Blancos packing with their tail between their legs, the Reds risked potential backlash against the fallen Premier League champions.

City’s six-game winless stretch had to end at some stage but they failed to land a glove on Arne Slot’s men at their most unhappy of hunting grounds.

A semblance of Pep Guardiola’s former juggernaut which finally showed itself early in the second half proved to be a short-lived before a feverish Anfield.

Slot may not believe in statistics but is now the first Liverpool manager to beat both Manchester clubs at a first time of asking since Kenny Dalglish in 2011.

As omens go, things are shaping up pretty nicely for the Dutchman’s title tilt.

Anfield gets under Pep’s skin again

Guardiola and Anfield has been a love-hate relationship dating back to his days as a Barcelona player, shortly after the turn of the new millennium.

Given his penchant for referencing the power of the famous old stadium, it’s clear that trips to the red half of Merseyside fill the City manager with dread.

He will not look back on this latest one with any particular fondness either, and not just due to his side falling 11 points behind their rivals in the title race.

With their own side riding high in the game with a two-goal cushion, Kopites delighted in informing Guardiola that he was ‘getting sacked in the morning’.

The Catalan could have brushed off the humorous reference, as many visiting managers have done down the years when confronted by that famous dry wit.

Instead, he chose to fall hook, line and sinker for the bait by delivering a retort of six fingers to signal the number of titles he has won at the Etihad Stadium.

Channelling his inner Jose Mourinho was out of character from Guardiola but desperate times to call for desperate measures with his team in crisis mode.

Not for the first time, however, he allowed Anfield to get firmly under his skin.

Backline reunion is ideally timed

Out of necessity rather than choice, Liverpool lined up a defensive reunion.

Injury to Ibrahima Konate, Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas saw the return of a back four that last started together since a 5-2 humbling by Madrid in 2023.

Joe Gomez partnered Virgil van Dijk in the heart of defence while Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to flank the pair alongside Andy Robertson.

A sublime pass for Mohamed Salah to tee up Cody Gakpo’s early opener heralded a triumphant comeback for Liverpool’s homegrown vice-captain.

Gomez, meanwhile, appeared highly assured when stepping in to the void left by Konate’s absence with Van Dijk providing a dependable partner in crime.

The Dutchman himself delivered a near-perfect performance which was only tinged by a late error that allowed Kevin de Bruyne to make inroads on goal.

Fortunately for Van Dijk, Caoimhin Kelleher was on hand to spare his blushes with a stop that had The Kop roaring with chants of ‘Ireland’s number one’.

After Slot admitted that his sidelined trio are facing ‘a few weeks’ out of action, Liverpool’s reformed backline proved to be perfectly timed.