Liverpool made quite the statement during the first half of the Premier League season by going undefeated and sitting in first place. As the second half of the season started on Saturday, the Reds made another one.
At home, Liverpool crushed helpless Arsenal 5-1 with Roberto Firmino scoring a hat trick. The Gunners took the lead through Ainsley Maitland-Niles 11 minutes in, but it was short lived as Jurgen Klopp's team went on to score four by half time to go nine points clear atop the table. Tottenham entered the day in second place but lost at home to Wolves, giving Klopp's team the chance to extend its lead, which it did comfortably.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
This result was never really in doubt
Liverpool went down early and found itself in a position it doesn't often: trailing at home. But it certainly never really felt like Arsenal would take control. Lucas Torreira wasn't himself, Mesut Ozil was out injured, and the defense of the Gunners looked as hopeless as anyone can remember in recent memory. Liverpool players didn't hang their heads at all after that goal. Virgil van Dijk clapped and encouraged his team to bounce back, and then they shut down the Gunners for the rest of the game.
Liverpool had 10 shots on goal, while Arsenal had only two, and if anything it was good practice for Liverpool when it comes to facing adversity in the league.
Roberto Firmino's return to form is a welcome sight
Since the end of September, Firmino had just two league goals, but in 90 minutes he produced a magical performance worthy of five stars. One of Firmino's goals came on a penalty kick, and his second was absolutely blissful, but his first showed the confidence he has in himself and his team, despite his inability to score as of late. With a wide open goal after a wacky deflection, Firmino did a no-look shot to level the score:
Cheeky, but he wasn't done there. Get a load of this second goal:
Absolutely brilliant, and boy is that a welcome sight for the Reds. Considering how good this team has been all season long without Firmino delivering the goals, this result just shows once again how dominant the club can be when they are all in top form. Part of it is being in the right spot at the right time, but the confidence this gives will be huge. He hadn't been particularly sharp from the penalty spot as of late and hadn't been scoring, but he solved both of those issues on Saturday.
A draw or win next and Liverpool is the heavy favorite
I'll never be one to say the title race is over this far out. It would be silly to say such a thing, especially considering we are at the halfway point. But if you are a Liverpool fan, you have to love where this team is. Nine points clear, and at worst seven clear if City wins on Sunday.
It would only be "over" if there were like a 15-point gap with maybe two months to go, but even then you never know. The point is, Liverpool is in a position it really never finds itself in, and the fans are starting to truly believe this could be the year the team wins the league.
Since the top flight became the Premier League in 1992, Liverpool has never won it. But now, the Reds are the heavy favorites after what's been a perfect first 20 games of the season. 17-3-0 with 48 goals scored and eight against? Nobody could have ever dreamed this.
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