Mohamed Salah celebrated his 100th Premier League goal for Liverpool at Anfield.
However, the team’s 4-1 triumph over Ipswich proved more significant, as Arne Slot’s side solidified their position at the top of the table.
Salah netted his 19th league goal this season, marking his 176th overall in the competition.
This impressive feat places him just one goal shy of Frank Lampard’s sixth-place record with 177 goals.
His goal occurred between strikes from Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, who exploited the visitors’ defensive vulnerabilities in the first half.
Gakpo added a fourth goal shortly after the hour mark.
This allowed Slot to rest key players like Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, and Szoboszlai with 25 minutes remaining.
Meanwhile, ten-man Arsenal maintained their six-point gap, despite playing one game more, by winning against struggling Wolves.
Nottingham Forest, however, fell further behind after suffering a defeat at Bournemouth. Ipswich has now lost eight of their last eleven league matches.
They struggled offensively, not registering a shot until the hour mark.
Fortunately for them, Liverpool could have easily repeated last week’s humiliation against Manchester City.
After last week’s 6-0 defeat, 18th-placed Ipswich understandably adopted a cautious approach against the league leaders.
They often positioned all 11 players within 25 yards of their own goal, creating a defensive wall.
This setup made Ibrahima Konaté’s impressive pass to Szoboszlai all the more remarkable.
Szoboszlai, positioned 25 yards out, skillfully cut back onto his weaker left foot.
He sent defender Dara O’Shea the wrong way, and although his shot lacked power, it was well-placed enough to beat Christian Walton, marking his fourth goal of the season.
Ipswich’s challenges intensified when Wes Burns sustained a knee injury during a challenge with Gakpo.
The five-minute delay allowed Slot to communicate strategies to captain Virgil van Dijk, who was making his 300th appearance.
Van Dijk then relayed these instructions to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah.
Salah doubled the lead in the 34th minute after troubling left-back Leif Davis.
His initial cross-shot was parried by Walton, but the ball was quickly recycled to Gakpo.
Gakpo’s deep cross found Salah, who controlled it with his right foot and decisively hammered it into the net from a tight angle.
Recently, Szoboszlai has shown signs of regaining his best form.
When his shot from Gravenberch’s pass was parried by the goalkeeper, Gakpo pounced on the rebound.
This effectively sealed the game just before halftime, marking six consecutive goalscoring starts for him at Anfield.
Before the interval, Luis Diaz narrowly missed connecting with a diving header from Alexander-Arnold’s cross.
However, Gakpo seized the opportunity presented by Alexander-Arnold’s inviting lofted pass after the break.
Alexander-Arnold himself struck a post as Liverpool continued their total domination.
Julio Enciso briefly interrupted the match by fouling Wataru Endo, earning only a yellow card.
George Hirst forced a late save from the virtually redundant Alisson Becker.
Finally, Jacob Greaves managed to score a consolation goal in stoppage time for Ipswich.
