Liverpool extended their lead to seven points at the top of the English Premier League table after defeating Leicester City 3-1 at Anfield.
Second-placed Chelsea's defeat to Fulham earlier on Boxing Day gave Arne Slott's side the opportunity to extend their lead at the top and they took it with both hands – albeit after an early scare.
Leicester surprisingly took the lead in the sixth minute when Jordan Ayew turned and found the bottom corner with a deflected shot from a low cross from Stevie Mavididi, but the hosts came back strong.
Cody Jacobo equalized when he ran from the left side and hit a wonderful shot from the edge of the penalty area in stoppage time in the first half, and Liverpool then took the lead when Curtis Jones scored Alexis McAllister's early shot. In the second period.
Cody Jacobo celebrates scoring Liverpool's equalizer against Leicester on Boxing Day
Mohamed Salah, who hit the crossbar in the first half, added some spark to the scoreline late on when he shot into the box from the right and sent a stunning shot past 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 Slott's side still have a game in hand, putting them in a more commanding position in the title race.
Meanwhile, Leicester drop below Wolves to 18th place, a third successive loss in the Premier League that leaves them just one point from safety.
Aperture: You've seen how good we are
Liverpool president Arnie slot:
“It sounds strange but I thought we made a really good start. We were threatening them for six minutes, but then in one moment we underestimated the situation and that immediately led to a chance and a goal and we have to work hard to get more back into the game.
“In the end, I can't say we were lucky, but scoring before half-time really helped us, because we were 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 Slott says he is not getting carried away with Liverpool's progress at the top
Regarding the title Liverpool will lose, he added: “I don't look at it that way. It's a bit of a boring answer, but as a coach, you deal with each match individually because you know how many matches you still have to play and you see especially in the league results.” The Premier League is what you wouldn't expect because the teams are so good.
“Maybe if it was the Dutch League it would be like this, but not in this competition.”
Salah scores again
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool player to Amazon Prime:
“It's a good result. They were better in the first half, and the way they prepared themselves, they were very good.
“The way they were standing in front of the penalty area, it was very difficult for us especially in the first half, but we managed to score three goals which is a great result.
“He (Jacopo) had a great goal and gave us confidence in the second half to try and win the game. It's something he's practiced a lot in training. It was a great touch from him.”
Salah added about his own goal: “It's great. The most important thing for me is the team's victory. I hope we win the Premier League and I can have a big impact. We just need to focus and continue like this.”
Cody Steele “We practice it a lot and they always say practice makes perfect, so we'll keep practicing,” he said of his goal.
“Obviously we fell behind, we had to fight to get the equalizer and we had some good chances. I got the ball from (McAllister) and saw some space and did what we do in training.
“We know the qualities we have, but it is not good to fall behind. We are working on it so that we are not careless in the beginning.”
Salah reaches a milestone – Opta statistics
- Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has been involved in 27 goals in 17 Premier League matches this season (16 goals, 11 assists), just one less than in 32 matches last season (18 goals, 10 assists).
- His goal that made it 3-1 was his 100th home goal in the Premier League. He is the eighth player to reach this milestone.
- In his 250th Premier League start for Liverpool, Mohamed Salah became the fourth player to score 250 Premier League goal contributions for a single team (171 goals, 79 assists), alongside Wayne Rooney for Manchester United (276), and Ryan Giggs for Manchester United. United. (271) and Harry Kane for Tottenham (259).
Analysis: Is there anyone stopping Liverpool?
By the time the final whistle blew, Ayew's opening goal seemed like a distant memory. It is noteworthy that Leicester did not shoot any shots after the tenth minute of the match.
Such is Liverpool's ability to stifle their opponents. They remained calm after falling behind, even as they struggled to find their rhythm. But Salah is not the only playmaker.
Curtis Jones celebrates after putting Liverpool 2-1 ahead against Leicester
Jackpo is something else. His equalizer was a beauty and the result was never in doubt after that. Liverpool were ahead shortly after half-time, and of course Salah had to score his goal too. In the end, it looked like as easy a win as Liverpool could have asked for.
It has been up to four months since they last lost a match. Defeat to Nottingham Forest in September looks increasingly like an aberration. Recent draws against Newcastle and Fulham also looked uncharacteristic but Liverpool are back in their flow now.
Their unbeaten record now stands at 22 matches in all competitions. They will be on top at the start of the year, regardless of the result against West Ham on Sunday. They will likely be at the top in May as well. It became difficult to see any other outcome.
Van Nistelrooy: Credit to my team
Leicester president Ruud van Nistelrooy:
“We started the way we wanted to. We knew we had to be compact, we had to defend well, defend crosses well which we did, and we were dangerous with two breaks. We were in the game and the score was 2-1. He had the chance.” With Batson Daka.
Leicester players celebrate after Jordan Ayew's opening match against Liverpool
“These are the moments, in this type of game you have to take advantage of them. But all credit to the team, we were competitive and we were in the game for a long time.
“It's up to us to keep improving, keep doing what we're doing, keep making game plans for each opponent and thinking about how to win the game. The players know what they have to do and they acted on that, and today that was the solution.” As much as possible.
