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Liverpool just had to win. After Manchester City beat Tottenham on Saturday, nothing less than the three points would’ve sufficed for the Reds. They duly delivered, even if it took longer to get the job done than many assumed it would have beforehand.

Cardiff are fighting for their top flight lives, but the vast majority of their points have been won against teams around them in the table. Prior to kick off, they had lost 16 of their 18 matches against teams currently in the top half of the table, including eight defeats from nine at home.

With the Reds having recently equalled their best Premier League era points haul from bottom half sides with a victory at Southampton, they were expected to win easily. They had the chances to, but in the first half each of the front three missed a decent opportunity to give Liverpool the lead.

Opta deemed the best chances for Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah as clear-cut. Sadio Mané set up the former, meaning each of the first choice attacking trio has now created a golden opportunity for both of the other two main forwards this season.

Jordan Henderson was responsible for Salah’s chance – though the Egyptian’s neat footwork clearly also played a part – to continue the captain’s fine run of creativity. The skipper has set up five of the last seven clear-cut chances that Liverpool have created while he has been on the pitch.

It took until the second half for the deadlock to be broken. The list of Gini Wijnaldum goals is not a particularly lengthy read. His goal at the Cardiff City stadium was just his 11th across his three seasons in a Liverpool shirt. He only spent one year with Newcastle, but bagged 11 goals for them in that time.

However, what Wijnaldum’s goal list lacks in length, it makes up for with importance. A winner against Manchester City. An equaliser against Chelsea and a result-settling strike against Arsenal. A goal in Rome which proved to be decisive in sending Liverpool to last season’s Champions League final. The opener against Tottenham this season.

You get the idea. Cardiff may not match the aforementioned clubs in size, but the Dutchman’s goal put the Reds on the road to three more points to stay in the title race.

The strike gave Trent Alexander-Arnold his fourth assist in his last five matches, and 10 in total for 2018/19. Only seven players in the Premier League can top his haul of eight league assists, and one of those is Andy Robertson.

The Reds’ full-backs are the top two defenders for creating goals in the top flight this season.

There was then a 15-minute period which Cardiff City’s Sean Morrison would rather forget. First he missed the Bluebirds’ only clear-cut chance of the game, which proved to be their final shot of the contest too.

He then became the fifth player to have been judged to have fouled Salah in their own penalty box in the league this season. Only Wilfried Zaha, with six, has been awarded more Premier League penalties in 2018/19.

Substitute James Milner duly tucked away the 16th spot kick of his Liverpool career, to move to joint-eighth in the club’s all-time penalty scorer chart.

While six of the first eight were at Anfield, only two of the eight since have been. Unless the Reds are awarded two penalties in their final two home games (and none at St. James’ Park) then 2014/15 will remain the last season where Liverpool won more league penalties at home than on the road.

The penalty ended the match as a contest, and the points were in the bag. This was only the second league match Liverpool have won since Salah signed for the club where none of the first choice front three got on the score sheet.

If the first has slipped your mind, I’ve got two words to remind you: Divock Origi.

Liverpool have now taken 92 points from their last 38 league games, the most they’ve ever won in any 38-match stretch in the Premier League era.

Assign three points for a win to all historic seasons, and the Reds have only amassed more than the 88 they currently have twice in England’s top division.

Kenny Dalglish’s team picked up 90 points from 40 games in 1987/88, while Bob Paisley’s Reds collected 98 points from 42 in 1978/79. Those two teams are widely considered to be Liverpool’s best, and Klopp’s current crop undoubtedly deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as them.