Crystal Palace didn't know it, but as soon as James Milner tucked away his penalty shortly before half-time on Monday evening, they were as good as doomed.
Liverpool only held a one-goal advantage going into the break with a full 45 minutes left to play, giving Palace plenty of time to stage a comeback.
But a script had already been written from the moment Milner's shot hit the back of the net. From that moment on, Palace were swimming against the tide and fighting the inevitable.
History tells us when Milner scores in the Premier League, his team do not lose. Not once. Not ever.
The best outcome Roy Hodgson's men could have hoped for was a draw. They didn't get the message.
Instead, they pushed for a twist in the tale, but history was not to be contradicted.
Sadio Mane added gloss to the scoreline with a stoppage-time goal to seal the three points and extend Milner's astonishing record.
The 32-year-old has now found the net 49 times in the Premier League, across 48 games and 16 years. The end result: 38 wins and 10 draws.
He sowed the seeds to that record when he scored his first goal for Leeds in a 2-1 victory at Sunderland at just 16-years-old back in 2002.
It is the longest unbeaten run of its kind in Premier League history. But like London buses, records don't come around on their own.
Milner also added his name into the Premier League history books by becoming the first player to score eight consecutive goals from the spot.