Liverpool Spank Ipswich Town 4-1
Cody Gakpo scored twice as Liverpool comfortably saw off struggling Ipswich to maintain their six-point advantage at the top of the Premier League.
The Reds scored three goals in the first half to effectively end the game as a contest, and even looked like going eight clear with a game in hand until 10-man Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Nevertheless Liverpool did what they had to do to stay on course for a second league title in six years, with Gakpo scoring in either half, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah also netted.
Ipswich were thrashed 6-0 at home by reigning champions Manchester City in their last outing and arrived at Anfield clearly determined to avoid a similar scoreline.
They barely offered any attacking threat as they sat deep to try to frustrate Liverpool, but their resistance lasted just 11 minutes as an incisive attack by the Reds opened them up, Ibrahima Konate threading a ball through to Szoboszlai, who drove a shot in at the near post.
Salah has accounted for the majority of Liverpool’s goals at Anfield, so it was no surprise when he got on the scoresheet 10 minutes before the break, firing into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
A third duly arrived just before the break when Szoboszlai’s shot was parried and Gakpo was on hand to turn in the loose ball.
The second half was largely a non-event with the damage already done, but Gakpo added a fourth when he powered in a header.
The travelling fans were given something to celebrate in stoppage time when Jacob Greaves headed home a consolation from a corner.
Ipswich remain 18th, level on points with Wolves in 17th.
It is tough to perform at the highest level consistently, meaning even a side seemingly running away with a league could suffer a dip in form.
That, however, isn’t looking like happening any time soon for Liverpool as they barely got out of second gear to see off Ipswich.
A setback against a side who were soundly thrashed by an up-and-down Manchester City last time out always seemed unlikely.
But they still had a job to do and they never got frustrated against an Ipswich team set up almost exclusively to defend, expertly exploiting the gaps when they did appear to ensure the game was effectively won by half-time.
Salah, a shining light for the Reds this season, was once again among the goals but also encouraging is Gakpo’s form, with this double meaning he has now scored five goals in his past six Premier League games.
The one negative will have been the final few minutes of the game as Liverpool let their guard down, and boss Arne Slot will have not enjoyed seeing Ipswich force a good save out of Alisson late on before Greaves denied them a clean sheet.
But the Reds remain where they need to be as they look to win the Premier League title this season.