Fabinho 9 out of 10, Mohamed Salah 8, Wilfried Zaha injured: Liverpool v Crystal Palace ratings

Anfield giants take a step closer to the Premier League title

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker – 6, Paying spectators are currently locked out of matches. Alisson was a paid one in this game

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8, Majestic free-kick in the 23rd minute set the wheels in motion for a rout. EPA

Joe Gomez – 7, Replaced the injured Joel Matip in the starting XI, and continued where he left off after his solid substitute outing against Everton. Reuters

Virgil van Dijk – 7, He and Gomez were under-employed in the centre of Liverpool’s defence. They will be happy with that. EPA

Andy Robertson – 8, Set the tone for his side with a thunderous early tackle. Inexhaustible thereafter. AFP

Jordan Henderson - 7, Hit the post early on, and could have had one before that, too. Reuters

Fabinho – 9, As though he was playing in his own exhibition match. Picked pockets while defending, played a lush through ball for Salah’s goal, and scored a screamer. Reuters

Georginio Wijnaldum - 7, Scuffed two early shots wide, and had a good chance in the second half, too. His performance merited a goal. Reuters

Mohamed Salah - 8, Looked rusty. Briefly. Then scored a fine goal, and played a brilliant first time pass for Mane to score. AFP

Roberto Firmino – 6, The ghost at the feast of Liverpool’s forward line. Unlucky not to earn a penalty off Gary Cahill’s arm early on. Reuters

Sadio Mane – 8, Things must have been going well: Salah set him up for a goal, as Liverpool laid waste to their visitors. AFP

SUB: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 7, Doing his best to earn a starting place via perky substitute appearances – but where to fit him in?. Reuters

SUB: Neco Williams – 8, Looked very confident in his late cameo despite having the unenviable task of following Alexander-Arnold. EPA

SUB: Takumi Minamino – NA, Itching to impress after his rusty outing in the Merseyside derby, but did not get the minutes to do so. Reuters

SUB: Harvey Elliott – NA, Short on game time, but still provided a brief glimpse of his rich talent with a volleyed cross from the left. Reuters

SUB: Naby Keita – NA, Not enough time to make a mark, after coming on as a late sub. EPA

CRYSTAL PALACE RATINGS: Wayne Hennessey – 5, Didn’t have a chance with the goals, but hardly inspired confidence the rest of the time. Reuters

Joel Ward – 5, Grinned broadly when he smuggled a shot from Van Dijk away for a corner early on. The smile did not last. EPA

Gary Cahill - 5, Lucky to escape giving away a penalty when he appeared to handle from Firmino. Reuters

Mamadou Sakho - 5, Must give Palace fans palpitations at times. Liverpool fans will feel they have upgraded since he was one of theirs. EPA

Patrick van Aanholt - 6, Lost Salah for his goal, and was booted by his former Sunderland teammate Henderson, on an unhappy night. Reuters

James McCarthy – 7, It might have been an unwinnable one, but at least he tried to carry the fight to Liverpool. AFP

Andros Townsend – 5, Unable to affect the game as Liverpool's pressing strangled Palace. EPA

James McArthur – 5, Fighting a losing battle against a formidable Liverpool midfield, and looked shattered when he went off. EPA

Cheikhou Kouyate – 5, Anonymous, as Palace chased shadows and barely kept up with those. Reuters

Wilfried Zaha – NA, Limped off with 15 minutes gone, having tried to play through an injury suffered in the warm up. EPA

Jordan Ayew – 4, Tried to help out in defence, but might have been better served staying out of the way, and he conceded the free kick for Alexander-Arnold’s opener. Looked forlorn the rest of the time. EPA

SUB: Max Meyer – 6, A difficult job filling Zaha’s boots. He felt he deserved a free kick when thwarted by Fabinho on the edge of the box. EPA

SUB: Luka Milivojevic – 5, Officially had 24 minutes in which to impress, but he did little to mark himself out. AFP

SUB: Jairo Riedewald – 5, The Dutchman was overrun by Liverpool’s midfield after coming on to replace Kouyate. Not that he was unique in that. Getty

Mohamed Salah scored in his first appearance after the return of the Premier League as Liverpool moved to within two points of winning the title.

Jurgen Klopp’s side thrashed Crystal Palace 4-0 at Anfield, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho and Sadio Mane also scoring.

As an indicator of the game’s one-sidedness, it was the first time since such statistics have been kept in the Premier League that a side failed to have a single touch in the opposition’s box.

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