Liverpool saw off a spirited Crystal Palace to move nine points behind Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League.
The Reds started well and took the lead when Virgil van Dijk met an Andy Robertson corner to power home his second goal of the season, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain making it 2-0 thanks to another Robertson assist after a slick team move.
Palace grew into the game though, and after Jean-Philippe Mateta came close before the break, the forward teed up strike partner Odsonne Edouard to halve the deficit 10 minutes into the second half.
Palace pressed and searched for an equaliser, but after Alisson saved well from Michael Olise, the Reds were given a controversial penalty via VAR after Vicente Guaita upended Diogo Jota, with Fabinho scoring from the spot.
Here are the game's main talking points.
1. Van Dijk crowns fast start, and fine form
Perhaps carrying on from where they left off up the opposite end of London on Thursday, Liverpool tore into Palace from the beginning and could have taken the lead before they actually did in the eighth minute.
Pressure was telling as a corner was forced, and when Robertson delivered it there was a sense of ease and clarity about the way Van Dijk thumped his header into the net.
The Dutchman had been slowly returning to his best form this season, but since the turn of the calendar year he has really stepped it up and delivered some dominant defensive displays.
Here was a goal to crown that, and what a clean goal it was.
2. Palace fall into Liverpool's trap... to begin with
Going into this Premier League weekend there was at least one huge advantage Liverpool held over Manchester City.
The current league leaders sit second in the list of the most times Premier League sides have caught their opposition offside this season (47 times before they took on Southampton ), but they are miles behind Liverpool who came into this game on a staggering 85.
The Reds have turned their offside trap into an art form, and it was there again when a promising move which looked as though it ended with Mateta stinging Alisson's hand was actually irrelevant because of an offside earlier in the move.
Such moments are frequent in Liverpool matches, and in the absence of their African attacking stars the Reds seem to have taken their efforts up a notch in recent weeks.
It was only sloppiness - such as when Jordan Henderson gave the ball away just before half-time, leading to a good chance for Mateta - which was allowing Palace in, and from that the hosts were able to grow in confidence, ultimately breaching the offside trap more and more the longer the game went on.
3. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain steps up again
There was a second goal in two appearances for Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has done everything Jurgen Klopp would have asked of him in the absences of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane.
Playing in the Salah position on the right, Oxlade-Chamberlain is obviously never going to be able to replicate the skillset of the current best player on the planet, but he can do at least some of what he does.
His movement and positioning was somewhat Salah-lite, and it was no surprise to see him on the end of the brilliant team move that made it 2-0.
Finishing with his left foot - again a la Salah - Oxlade-Chamberlain guided home a goal that was fully deserved for Liverpool's dominance at the time, and indeed for his own display.
4. Palace's frustrations don't boil over
For much of the first half Selhurst Park was a very angry place.
The hosts had started slowly and they were unable to deal with Liverpool's intensity in the opening 20 minutes or so, and as the Reds exerted their authority there was a point when it looked as though they were going to take the game there and then.
With the home fans focusing their ire on the officials, it was a credit to Palace that they didn't let things get the better of them. They stayed with Liverpool and by the end of the first half they looked threatening.
Indeed, as half-time approached Henderson could be seen bellowing at his teammates as they let standards slip, and that was largely down to Palace's improving display.
That then bled into the second half, and Patrick Vieira's side deserved to pull a goal back by the time they did, with Edouard tapping home after a fine move.
5. Liverpool survive title test
It has ultimately been a very good week for Liverpool, then.
Back-to-back Premier League wins and a place in a cup final is a more than decent showing, with Manchester City's dropped points at Southampton the icing on the cake.
The Reds are still unlikely to catch the runaway leaders at the top of course, but they have to put themselves in a position from which they could theoretically strike when the chance comes.
They go into the winter break nine points back, with a game in hand and still with City to visit.
Stranger things have happened.
