With the Premier League title race already at unprecedented levels of nip and tuck, the manner of Manchester City's crushing, ruthless victory over Chelsea will have caused hearts to sink over at Anfield.
City, after all, had not quite looked themselves of late. Pep Guardiola was bemoaning his side's slow tempo even after some run-of-the-mill wins, and much more so after the defeats.
There was even a bit of sleepiness as Arsenal were seen off a week ago, and not much flair at Goodison Park in midweek. Yet here we are, at the end of this challenging three-game run, and City have won them all, finishing it off in brutal fashion to take them back to the top of the table.