Onward & Four-ward

Liverpool put up a title-clinching performance against Crystal Palace at Anfield; dominating possession en-route to a comprehensive 4-0 win. To put this into context; Palace were the Premier Division's No. 1 'form team'; winning their last 4 games either side of the break and not conceding a single goal... however; I think they made the mistake of defending too deep and not allowing their own attacking talents to flourish.

Liverpool played like a team eager to make amends for their surprisingly-lacklustre showing in the previous Merseyside Derby against Everton; and right from the outset; they played with a cutting drive and verve reminiscent of their season exploits.

They opened the scoring in the 23rd minute; when a rather-needless foul by Jordan Ayew on Virgil van Dijk led to a typically-outstanding free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold. Just when Palace thought they had done enough to go into the half-time break only one down; a clever pass from the brilliant Fabinho caught Patrick van Aanholt unawares; and Mohamed Salah stepped in to finish calmly for his 17th goal of the season.

In the second half; it was more of the same as Fabinho illuminated the contest with a proper belter from 25 metres; before Sadio Mane finished off the scoring with a typically sublime Liverpool move; latching onto a brilliant first-time Salah pass that bisected the Palace defence. Juergen Klopp was rightly pleased with the effort & intensity of his Liverpool team today; and rightly so; it was a game symbolic of their efforts throughout the entire season - the look of a champion.