Substitute Diogo Jota scored twice as Liverpool showed they remain one of the best sides in the Premier League by completely outclassing Arsenal to win 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester City’s win at Leicester earlier in the day meant Liverpool’s hopes of retaining their title are now mathematically over after a season of mixed performances, poor results and terrible injury problems.
But Jurgen Klopp’s side were at their scintillating best, dominating an Arsenal side missing a number of their own key players to secure victory courtesy of a brace from Jota either side of a Mohamed Salah strike.
Sportsmail’s Nick Callow rated the players.
Trent Alexander-Arnold capped an impressive display by setting up the first goal for Diogo Jota
Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Leno: Not much he could do about the Liverpool goals and did not have much else to do. 6
Chambers: Once again preferred to Bellerin and Soares at right-back, the former Southampton man showed why he is now Arteta’s go to man. 6
Holding: defensively solid, apart from Liverpool’s opener, in place of the injured David Luiz. 6
Gabriel: poor tackle before Salah scored Liverpool’s second to mar an otherwise hard working display. 6.
Arsenal’s Dani Ceballos was subbed after struggling to get to grips with Liverpool’s midfield
Tierney: Suffered a knee injury in a challenge with Milner to round off a relatively quiet night from the usually dynamic left-back. 6
Partey: Relatively subdued match from the usually impressive Ghanaian. Poor passing too. 5
Ceballos: subbed after 57 minutes after struggling to get to grips with Liverpool’s midfield. No replacement for the ill Granit Xhaka. No Rocky Rocastle either. 4
Odegaard: Relentlessly pressed the Liverpool defence and so sure of himself in possession and rarely misplaced a pass. Just did not have enough of the ball. 6
Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tried to force mistakes with his closing down
Aubameyang: Sporadically new work ethic to go with a fresh hairstyle, but not enough when his team needed more. 5
Lacazette: Put himself about for his team’s cause as he led the line with vigour and suffered a cut above his left eye for his troubles. 6
Pepe: Played on the right of Arsenal’s front three but struggled to get involved. 5
Subs: Soares (replaced Tierney 45mins): Solid if unspectacular – like most of his team-mates. 6
Elneny (replaced Ceballos 57) Injected some energy into a dour match. 6
Martinelli (replaced Aubameyang 78 mins) not enough time to make an impact. 6
Subs not used: Ryan, Bellerin, Mari, Elneny, Nelson, Willian, Nketiah
Arteta: surprisingly cautious approach from a manager who said his side need to play with the handbrake off. 5
Liverpool (4-3-3)
Alisson: Looked like David Seaman with his bushy moustache but had few opportunities to show he can play as well as the former England and Arsenal keeper. 7
Alexander-Arnold: Under the spotlight after Klopp’s comments about his England omission and did not let his manager down. 7
Kabak: Consistently broke up Arsenal’s play with tackles foul and fair. Strong. 6
Phillips: An easy night for the relatively inexperienced defender. 6
Mohamed Salah showed his class by scoring Liverpool’s second goal against Arsenal
Robertson: Made a slow start as he mis-timed a few passes and tackles, but nothing that had a big impact on the match. 6
Fabinho: A solid display at the base of midfield and occasionally dangerous breaking forward. Regularly snuffed out the threat of Odegaard. 8
Milner: Liverpool’s Mr Reliable did enough to show why he was preferred to Gini Wijnaldum in midfield. Switched to left-back later on. 6
Thiago: A lovely player to watch when his short passing is so crisp and precise. 6
Salah: A quiet match until he showed his class with Liverpool’s second goal. 7
Firmino: promising performance on his return from a knee injury but will it be enough to keep Diogo Jota out for Tuesday’s Real Madrid match? 6
Fabinho produced a solid display at the base of midfield for Liverpool on Saturday night
Mane: a busy display from the pick of Liverpool’s front three but was not rewarded for his efforts. 6
Subs: Jota (replaced Robertson 61) perfect impact substitute with a brilliant headed goal. 7
Wijnaldum (replaced Firmino 78) did what he had to do as a late substitute. 6
R Williams (replaced Kabak 84) no time to have an influence. 6
Adrian, Tsimikas, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shaqiri, Diogo Jota, Wijnaldum, Keita, Jones.
Klopp: got it right ion the night with the perfect balance of defence and attack. Nicely set up for a top four finish now. 7
Ref: Stuart Attwell 6