Liverpool moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 3-1 win over Leicester at Anfield.
Second-placed Chelsea’s defeat to Fulham earlier on Boxing Day gave Arne Slot’s side the chance to extend their lead at the summit and they took it with both hands – albeit after an early scare.
Leicester took a shock lead in the sixth minute when Jordan Ayew swivelled and found the bottom corner with a deflected effort from Stephy Mavididi’s low cross, but the hosts came roaring back.
Cody Gakpo levelled when he cut inside from the left-hand side and curled home a superb effort from the edge of the box in first-half stoppage time, with Liverpool then going in front when Curtis Jones swept home Alexis Mac Allister’s cut-back early in the second period.
Cody Gakpo celebrates scoring Liverpool’s equaliser against Leicester on Boxing Day
Mohamed Salah, who struck the crossbar in the first half, added some gloss to the result late on when he drove into the box from the right and guided an excellent finish beyond Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk for his 16th Premier League goal of the season.
Liverpool’s lead at the top will be reduced to six points if third-placed Arsenal beat Ipswich at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night but Arne Slot’s side still have a game in hand, putting them in an even more commanding position in the title race.
Leicester, meanwhile, slip below Wolves into 18th place, a third consecutive Premier League loss leaving them a point from safety.
Slot: You saw how good we are
Liverpool boss Arne Slot:
“It sounds weird but I thought we had a really good start. We were threatening them for six minutes, but then one moment where we underestimated a situation and it immediately led to a chance and a goal and we have to work really hard to come back in the game.
“In the end I wouldn’t say we were lucky, but it really helped to score before half-time, because we went 1-0 down and it was a game before we made it 3-1. Then I think you saw how good we really are.”
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Arne Slot says he’s not getting carried away with Liverpool’s lead at the top
On the title being Liverpool’s to lose, he added: “I don’t look at it that way. It’s bit of a boring answer, but as a manager you go game by game because you know how many games you still have to play and you see especially in the Premier League results that you didn’t expect because teams have so much quality.
“Maybe if it was the Eredivisie it would feel like this but not in this competition.”
Salah on target again
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah to Amazon Prime:
“It’s a good result. They were better in the first half, in the way they prepare themselves, they were very good.
“The way they were standing in front of the box, it was quite hard for us especially in the first half, but we managed to score three goals and it’s a great result.
“[Gakpo’s] was a great goal and it gave us confidence in the second half to try to win the game. It’s something he’s practised a lot in training. It was a great finish from him.”
On his own goal, Salah added: “It’s great. The most important thing for me is the team winning. Hopefully we win the Premier League and I have a big impact. We just need to focus and carry on like that.”
Cody Gakpo said of his goal: “We do practise that a lot and they always say practise makes perfect so we’ll keep practising.
“Obviously we went behind, we had to fight to get level and we got some good opportunities. I got the ball from [Mac Allister] and I saw some space and I just did what we do in training.
“We know the qualities we have, but it’s not nice to go behind. We are working on that so we are not sloppy in the beginning.”
Salah reaches landmark – Opta stats
- Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has been involved in 27 goals in 17 Premier League games this season (16 goals, 11 assists), just one fewer than he was in 32 appearances last term (18 goals, 10 assists).
- His goal to make it 3-1 was his 100th home goal in the Premier League. He is the eighth player to reach this milestone.
- Making his 250th Premier League start for Liverpool, Mohamed Salah became the fourth player to register 250 Premier League goal involvements for a single side (171 goals, 79 assists), along with Wayne Rooney for Man Utd (276), Ryan Giggs for Man Utd (271) and Harry Kane for Tottenham (259).
Analysis: Is there any stopping Liverpool?
By the time the final whistle sounded, Ayew’s opening goal felt like a distant memory. Remarkably, Leicester did not have a single shot after the 10th minute of the game.
Such is Liverpool’s capacity to smother their opponents. They stayed cool after falling behind, even as they struggled to find their rhythm. But Salah is not their only game-changer.
Curtis Jones celebrates after putting Liverpool 2-1 up against Leicester
Gakpo is another. His equalising goal was a thing of beauty and the result never looked in doubt after that. Liverpool were ahead soon after half-time and, of course, Salah had to get his goal too. In the end, it felt like as easy a victory as Liverpool could have asked for.
It is coming up to four months since they last lost a game. That September reverse against Nottingham Forest looks more and more like an aberration. The recent draws against Newcastle and Fulham felt uncharacteristic too but Liverpool are back in their flow now.
Their unbeaten run now stands at 22 games in all competitions. They will be top at the turn of the year, regardless of the result against West Ham on Sunday. They will most likely be top in May too. It is becoming difficult to see any other outcome.
Van Nistelrooy: Credit to my team
Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy:
“We had the start that we wanted. We knew we had to be compact, we had to defend well, defend crosses well which we did and with a couple of breaks we were dangerous. We were in the game and at 2-1 we had the chance with Patson Daka.
Leicester players celebrate after Jordan Ayew’s opener at Liverpool
“These are the moments, in this sort of game you have to take them. But only credit for the team, we were competitive and we were in the game for a long time.
“It’s up to us to keep developing, to keep doing what we’re doing, keep creating game plans for every opponent and think how we can win the game. The players know what to do and they acted on it and today it was the maximum possible.