Diogo Jota came up big for Liverpool once again as they briefly jumped to the summit of the Premier League for the first time since early December.
The Reds edged out Watford at Anfield with a 2-0 victory thanks to a sublime header from the in-form Portugal international and a Fabinho penalty. Liverpool leapfrogged Manchester City in the table in the process, before City's win at Burnley saw them retake top spot.
Jurgen Klopp's side were by no means at their brilliant best but the three points are all that matters at this stage in the season. Jota opened the scoring for the hosts as he headed home a Joe Gomez cross before Fabinho secured the win from the penalty spot.
Here are the talking points from the Premier League clash.
Jota to the rescue
Liverpool were sluggish out the blocks but that doesn't matter when Diogo Jota is at his clinical best. The Portugal star netted his 20th goal of the season across all competitions, his 14th in the Premier League, with a clever glancing header to outsmart Ben Foster.
It came at a critical point as Alisson denied Watford at the other end moments beforehand with a brilliant save from a one-on-one. And it didn't take long for Roy Hodgson's men to rue their missed opportunity as Liverpool went up the other end to take the lead.
Joe Gomez, who played at right-back in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold, found Jota with an incisive cross as the forward made a smart run to the near post with a headed finish. Jota overtook Son Heung-min in the Premier League scoring charts in the process with his teammate Mohamed Salah the only one with more goals than him this season.
Trent who?
Trent Alexander-Arnold was only able to make the bench after picking up an injury before the international break. Gomez came in at right-back for Liverpool, as a result, but the defender was a capable replacement going forward.
Alexander-Arnold would have been proud of Gomez's ball into the box that found Jota for the opener. He channeled his inner Trent to whip in an impressive ball into one of those areas that is impossible to defend against. The former Wolves man just had to direct it goalwards.
Gomez did struggle defensively out of his favored center-half position. He appeared isolated at times and committed a number of needless fouls on the right-hand side before eventually picking up a booking.
Salah's World Cup hangover
Mohamed Salah was uncharacteristically quiet for Liverpool against Watford. Fantasy Premier League owners were hoping he would feast against the relegation-threatened side with the majority of managers handing him the captain's armband.
But that's not how it materialised as he blanked against the Hornets. In fairness to Salah, he probably still had what happened with Egypt during the international break in the back of his mind.
Sadio Mane's winning penalty sent Senegal to the World Cup as Egypt failed to qualify after Salah's missed spot-kick. And it was clear it was still preying on him as he was a peripheral figure against Watford.
Mane on cloud nine
To compound Salah's misery, he was subbed early in the second half and Mane was his replacement. Klopp played down a rift between the star pair earlier in the week
The German also hinted Mane would have played from the start if he didn't arrive back late from international duty with Senegal as he looked sharp as ever in training. He said: "Sadio looked top in training but we had to make the decision without really knowing how they will come back."
And it was clear to see his confidence is through the roof at the minute as Liverpool were lifted by his introduction after a stale start to the second half. Mane was lively as ever and is primed to be a big player the rest of the way.
Liverpool make title statement
Liverpool might only have been ahead of City in the Premier League for a few hours, but it certainly put more pressure on Pep Guardiola's men ahead of their clash with Burnley.
The win meant they were two points clear of their title rivals. City were miles ahead of the chasing pack a few months ago so the fact the Reds had overtaken them, even temporarily, is an impressive feat in itself.
There's a feeling the momentum has shifted ever so slightly and the importance of having the points on the board cannot be underestimated. Over to you, Man City.
