Mohamed Salah has enough iconic moments to last a lifetime at Liverpool. But you can never have enough to satisfy the best.
As he sprinted off in the direction of the away end packed with delirious Liverpool fans, he must have thought that was the goal that won the derby. The Reds fans singing about winning the league at Goodison Park certainly thought so.
Instead, this strike — which sparked a different type of chaos to the chaos of the brawl at the end — will have to join a rare group of those that don’t go on to matter as much as it first looked. If Liverpool wins the league this May, it won’t be remembered, but that won’t matter to the Reds talisman even if it hurts right now.
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The bigger picture is the key for Liverpool from here. Seven points clear with 14 games left? It’s far from the worst position to be in for Arne Slot, who was sent off by the referee, Michael Oliver.
When the Liverpool players and staff look back at this with a cool head, that will be the important element that is reflected on. Ultimately, the league position is what matters the most.
Arsenal, while it will have been heartened by seeing Liverpool dropping a couple of points, won't have seen that much to give it encouragement. It remains a tough task for the Gunners to come from behind here, now of course with another key man in Kai Havertz out for a sustained spell through injury.
While Arsenal could move within four points of Liverpool by beating Leicester City this Saturday, by Sunday the Reds should move back into a seven-point lead by getting over the line against Wolves. Jones could have been in line to start that one at Anfield, potentially, but the Liverpool number 17 is now suspended.
By next Wednesday, Liverpool will move onto 26 matches played — one more than Arsenal. If it can beat Aston Villa — and assuming that the Reds and the Gunners both win at the weekend — a victory will give the Reds a 10-point lead at that stage. Even though Mikel Arteta's men will have a game more left, that will be a psychological blow ahead of the final stretch.
"Liverpool got a good point, go seven clear, and it leaves them in a good position," Steve McManaman said on TNT Sports. "They have Wolves at home at the weekend and they just need to go there and pick it up."
In the last few weeks, the Premier League title race has appeared to be closer than it really is because of Liverpool playing catch-up. The teams won't be level on matches played for long, and indeed roles will soon reverse: the Reds will get the chance to put more scoreboard pressure on Arsenal.
James Tarkowski delivered a memorable moment in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. By the end of the season, though, Liverpool should not be knocked sufficiently out of its stride. If it can get back to winning ways against Wolves and then go to Aston Villa and secure a victory, Liverpool will make Arsenal's task look an even taller order than it is already.
