Reds the team to beat

EPL: STEPPING UP A HUGE NOTCH UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF ARNE SLOT

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Liverpool have been used to second best during Pep Guardiola's era at Manchester City, but a 2-0 victory over the crisis-hit champions left little doubt over who are the team to beat in this season's Premier League title race.

Goals in either half from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah at Anfield on Sunday did not do justice to the scale of the Reds' domination as City succumbed to a sixth defeat in a seven-game winless run.

Arsenal and Chelsea are now Liverpool's closest challengers, nine points behind, with City 11 back and almost certain to finally lose their grip on the English top-flight after an unprecedented four consecutive titles and six in the past seven seasons.