Cody Gakpo scored the only goal of the first half at Anfield but Liverpool should have been out of sight by the interval. When Mohamed Salah did finally put some more distance between Arne Slot and Pep Guardiola's sides, it was nothing less than deserved.
Liverpool is now in a better position after 13 games than it was when Jurgen Klopp's team raced to the Premier League title in 2019-20. Then, it beat the Etihad side on matchday 12 and a game later — the point at which we are now at — was eight points above second place and nine above Manchester City.
Right now, it is nine points above second place (Arsenal and Chelsea) and 11 ahead of Guardiola. As Slot himself admitted at the final whistle, even he couldn't have dreamed of being in such a position.
Arne Slot rules 3 Liverpool players out of Newcastle and Everton games after Man City winLiverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Man City as Mohamed Salah and 3 more exceptional
Liverpool will attempt to play it down — Slot and Virgil van Dijk already have — but the Reds have such a commanding lead at the summit that anything other than winning the title from here would be a disappointment. Arsenal, no doubt, will be kicking itself that this was the year it chose to have a slow start.
After Liverpool beat Southampton last weekend, Opta boffins calculated the Reds had a 69.5 per cent chance of winning the title. Now, having dealt with what most assumed would be its biggest test yet with relative ease, it must be even greater.
Heading into the weekend, Guardiola backtracked on his suggestion that if Manchester City lost, it would be out of contention for the Premier League. That was the first sign that he didn't expect much from his latest visit to Anfield.
Then, with the result confirmed, he tried to insist on Sky Sports that there was a long way to go. It was exactly what he needed to say, but it wasn't really said with much confidence. Even he admitted that there is a big gap to bridge.
"I said before this game that we weren't in a position to think about targets," Guardiola admitted. "But the season is long," he replied when asked directly if his side could find a way to overhaul the lead Liverpool has built.
"We have to think about making results and then some players will come back and then we'll be better and we'll believe maybe. There are many things to fight for and we're going to try."
Like his players' actions on the pitch, though, the words were spoken with little conviction. There didn't appear to be much belief in what he was saying and that could come into even more focus considering Manchester City's next games. For a team arguably in crisis, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Aston Villa and then Everton doesn't look quite so easy.
"If Manchester City were to win it from here, it would be beyond ridiculous," Gary Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast. "Liverpool would have had to have folded and they would have had to have arrested what looks like a decline." It is, frankly, hard to disagree.
"The first 15-20 minutes, they were unstoppable," Guardiola admitted. "They started so strong, we tried to play with a lot of control and passes, but it was difficult to take it." Now , Liverpool needs to prove it is "unstoppable" not just in moments, but in the wider title picture as well.
