Mohamed Salah and an unstoppable Liverpool: Goodbye to the title race!

Well, it was nice while it lasted. The illusion of a title challenge was brutally shattered when Liverpool overcame Manchester City on Sunday, all but ending Arsenal's hopes of catching them at the top of the Premier League.

Goals from Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai sealed a 2-0 win and completed a disastrous week for City. The Reds beat their league rivals away for the first time in a decade, just days after Pep Guardiola's side were knocked out of the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappe.

City had all but given up on title contention after losing to Liverpool at Anfield in December, but Arsenal still held out a slim hope of dethroning the Reds, especially after Aston Villa held them back with a draw on Wednesday. The Gunners went into the weekend hoping to cut Liverpool's lead to five points with a game in hand, provided they beat lowly West Ham and got a boost from City. However, the opposite happened: Arsenal suffered a shock home defeat, while Arne Slot's side ended a crucial weekend 11 points clear at the top of the table, closing in on their 20th league title.

City and Liverpool have been title battles in recent years, but on this occasion, pride was the only thing at stake for Guardiola's side. While they managed to keep their dignity against the league leaders, once Salah scored his 25th goal of the season, City never looked like having any real chance of a comeback.

Furthermore, players who usually appear at key moments were conspicuous by their absence. Erling Haaland was not called up due to a knee injury that also kept him out in Madrid, while Kevin De Bruyne, visibly far from his best, wandered around the pitch until Guardiola decided to end his suffering and replaced him.

De Bruyne has been City's talisman in decisive games like this, but his poor display made it seem as though he was saying goodbye to top-flight football. In contrast, Salah, just a year younger than the Belgian, is still at the top of his game and is edging ever closer to lifting his second Premier League title with the Reds.