Liverpool vs Ipswich LIVE: Result and reaction as Reds cruise to victory at Anfield
Liverpool 4-1 Ipswich: Cody Gakpo scored twice to lead the charge as the table-toppers stayed six points clear
Mohamed Salah scored his 100th Premier League goal for Liverpool fc at Anfield but it was the 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town which was more significant as Arne Slot's side maintained their stranglehold at the top of the table.
Salah's 19th league goal of the season and 176th ever in the competition, which puts him just one behind sixth-placed Frank Lampard (177) on the list of its all-time scorers, came in between strikes from Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo as the visitors were clinically exposed in the first half.
Gakpo headed in a fourth just past the hour to afford Slot the luxury of resting the forward, fellow Dutchman Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai with 25 minutes remaining.
Ten-man Arsenal kept within six points, albeit having played a game more, with a win at struggling Wolves but third-placed Nottingham Forest fell nine behind after defeat at Bournemouth.
Ipswich, who have now lost eight of the last 11 league matches, did not manage a shot until the hour mark and got off lightly in some respects as had their hosts - for whom this was the first of six games in 18 days in four competitions - not eased off the intensity it could easily have been a repeat of last week's humiliation at Manchester City.
Relive all of the action from Anfield in our live blog below:
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Ipswich
11 mins: GOAL! Wonderful, wonderful goal as Liverpool take the lead!
Konate finds a gap and brilliantly slips Szoboszlai into space. From there, the Hungarian drops the shoulder and firmly plants his left-footed effort into the bottom corner.
That was the early goal that Ipswich would have feared.
Liverpool 0-0 Ipswich
9 mins: Salah gets near the byline on the right before cutting in and trying to bend a trademark finish into the far corner. Davis recovers to block.
Liverpool 0-0 Ipswich
7 mins: Moment of concern inside Anfield as Virgil van Dijk lands awkwardly and remains on the deck for a few seconds.
Thankfully for Arne Slot, his skipper is back on his feet and seems to have shaken it off.
Liverpool 0-0 Ipswich
5 mins: Nice move from Diaz to find Mac Allister as Liverpool threaten to break away, but the Argentinian is surrounded by blue shirts and dispossessed.
Ipswich will be fully aware that Liverpool have conceded first in their last three Premier League games at home. They’ll surely feel that the first goal will need to go their way if they’re going to pull of an upset today.
Liverpool 0-0 Ipswich
2 mins: The first effort of the game goes Liverpool’s way as Cody Gakpo cuts onto his right, as he so often loves to do, but he can only blaze it over the bar.
Nice decoy run from Robertson there to allow Gakpo to move into space.
KICK-OFF! Liverpool 0-0 Ipswich
1 min: KICK-OFF! Liverpool get us underway.
Here come the teams
The teams have made their way out to a sun-baked Anfield as You’ll Never Walk Alone rings around the ground.
It’s a sound and sight that never fails to get you in the mood. Moments away from kick-off.
Closing in on kick-off
Not long now until we get underway at Anfield.
Liverpool are looking to keep their distance at the top of the Premier League and could go nine points clear with a win today, assuming results go their way elsewhere.
Ipswich, meanwhile, will be eager for a better showing after being on the receiving end of a hammering at the hands of Manchester City last weekend. Saying that, the Tractor Boys have been more than capable of an upset this season.
Stay tuned for all the action, right here.
Kieran McKenna turns away Liam Delap suitors
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna has warned suitors interested in Liam Delap this January that any enquiries are likely to fall on deaf ears.
The 21-year-old Delap has netted eight goals in 21 appearances for Ipswich since joining the newly-promoted Tractor Boys from champions Manchester City last summer.
Those figures and his all-round performances have seen the England Under-21 international linked with a big-money move away from Portman Road, but McKenna, when asked if any teams had "knocked on the door" for his star striker, suggested interested parties would receive short shrift.
"I don't know whether doors have been knocked. We've certainly got no interest in answering the door. We don't have a door bell and the music's on loud," McKenna joked earlier this week.
This afternoon's fixtures
It’s a busy old afternoon of Premier League action, the 3pm window loaded as many would like it to always be. Here’s a reminder of the five games that’ll be up and running in little more than half an hour:
Liverpool vs Ipswich
Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest
Brighton vs Everton
Southampton vs Newcastle
Wolves vs Arsenal
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