League leaders Arsenal were subject to a blitzkrieg at Anfield and had no answers to the assault they faced from Liverpool.
Martin Skrtel scored twice in the opening 10 minutes to put Liverpool in firm control and further strikes from Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge gave the home side an unassailable 4-0 lead before half-time.
Sterling netted the fifth goal early in the second half with Mikel Arteta’s penalty the only blot on Liverpool’s copybook in what was a perfect day for Brendan Rodgers’ side as they enhanced their top four aspirations and dented Arsenal’s title bid.
Liverpool came racing out of the blocks and hit the front in the very first minute when Steven Gerrard whipped in a free-kick and Skrtel, unmarked inside the six-yard box, bundled the ball home past Wojciech Szczesny with his knee.
This was indeed a night Arsenal would want to forget, given that they lost their top spot to Chelsea thanks to an unstoppable Eden Hazard. Manchester City also dropped two precious points away to Norwhich. Has the title race taken a serious change in direction?
