Five things learned as Liverpool move 11 points clear of Manchester City with statement 2-0 win

Virgil van Dijk put in a stellar display at the back to keep Erling Haaland quiet all evening.

GB News takes a look at five things learned from Liverpool's latest step to winning the Premier League title.

Van Dijk contract necessity

The prospect of losing Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold for free at the end of the season is a very real and worrying possibility for Liverpool as contract negotiations continue.

All three were crucial in the 2-0 victory over City, but Van Dijk was a giant at the back and kept Erling Haaland in his back pocket all evening.

At 33 years of age, Van Dijk remains arguably the best centre-back in the Premier League and Liverpool fans will be desperate for the club captain to sign a new deal.

Liverpool would look a far weaker defensive unit without Van Dijk in this kind of form.

Liverpool's squad depth

Part of Liverpool's success this season has been down to the squad depth Arne Slot has at his disposal in being able to make small tweaks without disrupting their momentum.

Luis Diaz started through the middle against City in a surprise move from Slot, but it paid off in the first half as Liverpool threw the kitchen sink at their title rivals.

Curtis Jones, who has been arguably Liverpool's most in-form midfielder in recent weeks, was rested against City but Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were superior to Pep Guardiola's midfield unit.

Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez also appear to be in direct competition with each other and that has also brought the best out of each other this campaign.

Harder than it needed to be

Liverpool will feel they should have been out of sight by the half-time whistle with their attackers missing multiple chances before the break.

Salah should have doubled his side's lead when he was through one-on-one with Stefan Ortega, but he missed the target altogether.

It didn't matter in the end after Diaz won his side a penalty and Salah confidently dispatched the spot-kick.

But getting all three points proved tougher than it should have been for Liverpool on a night where they outclassed City in every aspect.

Title Liverpool's to lose

Slot will insist there is plenty of work left to do with just 13 Premier League games gone, but holding a nine-point lead at the top of the table after comfortably beating their biggest title rivals is a huge statement.

They've also practically wrapped up their top-eight position in the Champions League, meaning Slot will be able to rest some of his key players over the next two months.

Both Arsenal and City have work to do in Europe in their final three games to ensure they don't have to compete in a play-off.

It's all set for Liverpool to secure a famous Premier League title victory and give Anfield the title party they never got in 2020.

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Rodri Ballon d'Or proof

There was huge uproar when Rodri was awarded the Ballon d'Or over Vinicius Jr, but City's diabolical form since the midfielder's injury is proof enough just how good he has been for Guardiola's side.

City look a shambles in midfield with their defensive unit regularly exposed without a player like Rodri protecting them.

The Spain international also helped provide a spark going forward by charging into the box and getting amongst the goals.

The backlash now looks foolish with Guardiola still unable to find a way to replace the 28-year-old.