REDS PRIMED FOUR CROWN
LIVERPOOL 4 CRYSTAL PALACE 0 Kop kings shatter Palace to stand on brink of title
LIVERPOOL have both surgically-gloved hands on the Premier League trophy now – it is just a question of when Manchester City let go.
If the champions fail to win at Chelsea tonight, Liverpool’s long-awaited moment of destiny will have arrived.
The red flare is primed and ready to go up after Liverpool brushed aside Palace on their return to Anfield last night.
First-half goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah plus two more collector’s items from Fabinho and Sadio Mane after the break did the trick. After 30 years’ wait another week will not do any harm and it would be more satisfying from a Liverpool perspective if the handover were to come at the Etihad next Thursday.
The return of Roy Hodgson ten years on from his forgettable six months in charge at Liverpool served as a reminder of the road the Reds have travelled under Jurgen Klopp. Those depressing days are a long way behind them.
Hodgson, right, has done a remarkable job on limited resources in piloting Palace to the top half of the table. His diligence and organisation have given Palace a solidity other teams find hard to crack.
But Liverpool, with their frontline front three reunited, possess a different degree of firepower and their movement and width pulled Palace apart.
If there was any concern prematch that an empty Anfield would sap their potency it proved unfounded.
Few clubs feel their home comforts as deeply as Liverpool, and confronted with their first taste of crowd-free football at Anfield they must have felt like
rock stars playing at a monastery. You’ll Never Walk Alone was pumped out before kick-off but that was exactly what Liverpool were doing. It was a mournful rendition.
Yet Liverpool played as if the roars of thousands were in their ears.
There were a handful of fans waiting outside of the ground for the arrival of the team bus but they were comfortably outnumbered by police as the stayaway pleas were heeded.
Liverpool, better balanced with the return of Andy Robertson down the left, totally dominated. Palace were not helped by the loss of Wilfried Zaha – forced off after just 15 minutes – but by then the tone was already set with Liverpool zipping the ball around much more quickly than in the stalemate at Everton on Sunday.
Two decent openings in the first ten minutes for Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson went begging but the fragile deadlock was broken by Alexander-Arnold’s pinpoint 25-yard free-kick just before the drinks break.
It was the first goal Palace had conceded in five matches but there was a London bus feel about what was coming.
After Henderson hit the post, Liverpool had their second a minute before the break through Salah, who finished a superb through ball from Fabinho with ease.
The Brazilian took centre stage in the 55th minute with a 35-yard netbuster to put Liverpool three up and then came a sumptuous team move for the fourth in the 69th minute, Mane providing the finish after Firmino and Salah had combined in a wonderful breakout.
It was sublime football from a champion team.