Arne Slot didn't take long as Liverpool boss to realise the strength of his squad inheritance from predecessor Jurgen Klopp meant significant improvement wasn't required. But having finished third behind champions Manchester City and Arsenal last season, there was one glaring area the new man was acutely aware needed addressing.

“If you are purely looking at it from a data point of view then it was a 10-point difference between the away games of City last season and ours, and the (final) gap was nine,” said Slot back in October.

“If you look at the home form of both teams it’s the same. The $10m question is - why is this? I think there are areas we have to improve and that is why it is so important to take control over every game, not only the home games but the away ones too."

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And there was more. “If you want to win this league, no matter who it is, you need to win a few of the five, six, seven very difficult away games," added the Reds boss. “We’re talking about Newcastle, we’re talking about Chelsea, about Aston Villa, about Tottenham, about City, about United and about Arsenal.”

Sunday's seismic victory at City was therefore noteworthy in several ways, besides sending Liverpool 11 points clear at the summit with 11 games remaining, albeit having played a match more than nearest rivals Arsenal.

It moved the Reds on to 10 away Premier League wins for the season, surpassing the total for the whole of the previous campaign with four more road trips still to come at Fulham, Leicester City, Chelsea and Brighton.

Indeed, Liverpool are unbeaten away from Anfield since the Goodison derby defeat at Everton last April. And with 35 points from a possible 45 on the road this term, they are 10 points clear of Arsenal - and 17 ahead of Manchester City - on that metric alone, although they have played two more such games than the pair.

Then there are the games at some of their bigger rivals Slot had mentioned. The win at City followed triumphs at Manchester United and Tottenham, while there were draws at Newcastle, Villa and Arsenal with a trip to Stamford Bridge still to come.

With apologies to Champions League qualification contenders Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, the mini-table involving Liverpool and those seven teams sees the Reds top by three points from Arsenal, with both having played 10 of the 14 scheduled such matches.

Newcastle are third with two fewer points than the Gunners from nine games, while struggling United are unsurprisingly bottom with just six points. Tellingly, City have played one game more than Liverpool but taken just half of 22 points Slot's side have accrued.

In solely games away from home between those eight clubs, Liverpool have taken 12 points from six games with Arsenal next on nine from five matches. Last term, the Reds took seven points from those seven away encounters compared to nine for the Gunners and 11 for City.

With seven of Liverpool's final 11 Premier League games coming at Anfield - where, don't forget, they have lost just three top-flight matches in front of supporters in approaching eight years - the home form will determine whether Slot's men can ensure their excellent campaign continues with a trophy-laden finale.

But should the Reds get the job done, it will be down to their vastly-improved record on the road. Not for the first time this season, Slot's message to his players has been acted upon.