Liverpool thump Ipswich to keep title rivals at arm's length

Liverpool 4-1 Ipswich Town

MOHAMED SALAH SCORED his 100th Premier League goal for Liverpool at Anfield but it was the 4-1 victory over Ipswich which was more significant as Arne Slot’s side maintained their stranglehold at the top of the table.

Salah’s 19th league goal of the season and 176th ever in the competition, which puts him just one behind sixth-placed Frank Lampard (177) on the list of its all-time scorers, came in between strikes from Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo as the visitors were clinically exposed in the first half.

Gakpo headed in a fourth just past the hour to afford Slot the luxury of resting the forward, fellow Dutchman Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai with 25 minutes remaining.

Ten-man Arsenal kept within six points, albeit having played a game more, with a win at struggling Wolves but third-placed Nottingham Forest fell nine behind after defeat at Bournemouth.

Ipswich, who have now lost eight of the last 11 league matches, did not manage a shot until the hour mark and got off lightly in some respects as had their hosts – for whom this was the first of six games in 18 days in four competitions – not eased off the intensity it could easily have been a repeat of last week’s humiliation at Manchester City.

After last week’s 6-0 walloping it was understandable 18th-placed Ipswich would be cautious against the league leaders but they often sat so deep they had all 11 players within 25 yards of their own goal.

Which made it all the more remarkable Ibrahima Konate, whom Slot had said on Friday needed to improve his distribution, was able to thread a pass into Szoboszlai in the inside-right position 25 yards out.

The Hungary captain cut back onto his weaker left foot, sending Dara O’Shea the other way, and although his low shot was not particularly powerful it was placed well enough to beat Christian Walton inside his left-hand post to register only his fourth goal of the season.

Ipswich’s problems deepened when Wes Burns was carried off in considerable discomfort after injuring his knee in a challenge on Gakpo.

During the five-minute delay Slot handed out instructions to captain Virgil van Dijk, making his 300th appearance, which he then relayed to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah.

Whatever he said as Salah doubled the lead in the 34th minute having first causing left-back Leif Davis real trouble before his cross-shot was batted away by Walton.

The ball was recycled to Gakpo on the left and his deep cross picked out the Egypt international, who controlled it with his right foot and hammered it into the roof of the net with his left from an even tighter angle.

Szboszlai has shown signs in recent weeks of returning to his best form, and when his shot from Gravenberch’s pass was parried by the goalkeeper, Gakpo stabbed home the rebound to effectively kill off the game a minute before half-time having made it six successive goalscoring starts at Anfield.

Luis Diaz curled a shot just wide before the interval, having only marginally missed connecting his diving header with Alexander-Arnold’s cross to the far post, but Gakpo did not pass up the same opportunity offered by the England international’s inviting lofted pass after the break.

Alexander-Arnold himself hit a post as Liverpool’s total domination continued, halted only briefly by Julio Enciso launching himself into Wataru Endo’s upper torso and escaping with a yellow card and George Hirst forcing a late save out of the virtually redundant Alisson Becker before Jacob Greaves headed a stoppage-time consolation.