Salah 17, Slot second, Palace sung Eze back

The goals, the performance, the routine dominance

Anfield got what it came for. Salah opened his account for the afternoon, then did it again — his 16th and 17th league goals of the season, delivered with the kind of calm that makes everyone around him look like they're trying too hard. Gakpo wrapped it up to make it 3-1, and Liverpool's afternoon was, on paper, comfortable.

Crystal Palace pulled one back — enough to keep the scoreline honest, not enough to threaten anything. Oliver Glasner's side had their moments, but Anfield on a Sunday is not the venue for a Palace upset. It never really looked like it would be.

The Eze thing

The away end, to their credit, did not come to Anfield quietly. Eberechi Eze's name rang out from the Palace supporters — a pointed reminder that he'd scored the day before, that their best player is still their best player, and that they were not here simply to make up the numbers. It's a small detail. It's also the kind of detail that sticks.

The title picture

Slot's side stay second on goal difference. That sentence does a lot of work. Liverpool have done almost nothing wrong this season and are still not top — which tells you everything about the team above them and nothing about Liverpool's failings. The gap is wafer-thin. The margin for error is the same. Slot, for his part, has built something that looks very much like a title contender. Whether it becomes one is a question for the next few weeks.