Rampant Liverpool moved 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League after Roberto Firmino struck twice in an emphatic 4-0 win at second-placed Leicester City.
With Liverpool in total control throughout, it was a performance that suggested the title race is all but over at the half-way stage, but afterwards manager Juergen Klopp sought to play down suggestions the title was already theirs.
The victory was inspired in large part by attacking right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold who created three goals and scored one himself.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has been vocal in his criticism of his team’s intense schedule but the European champions showed no signs of any adverse influence from their trip to Qatar, where they won the Club World Cup.
A trip to Leicester, who went into the game unbeaten at home this season, was the toughest test of the season, but Klopp’s men passed the test with barely a hint of drama and it will now take an extraordinary slump for them to fail to win their first title of the Premier League era.