Liverpool moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League 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 top and they took it with both hands – albeit after an early scare.
Leicester took a shock lead in the sixth minute when Jordan Ayew turned and found the bottom corner with a deflected effort from Stephy Mavididi's low cross, but the hosts came roaring back.
Cody Gakpo leveled when he cut inside from the left and curled in a great effort from the edge of the penalty area in first-half stoppage time, before Liverpool took the lead when Curtis Jones headed home Alexis Mac Allister's cutback early swept. in the second period.
Mohamed Salah, who hit the crossbar in the first half, added some sparkle to the result when he drove into the penalty area from the right and guided an excellent finish past Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk for his 16th Premier League goal of the season.
Liverpool's lead at the top will be cut to six points if third-placed Arsenal beat Ipswich at the Emirates Stadium on Friday evening, but Arne Slot's side have a game in hand, putting them in an even more dominant position. in the title race.
Leicester, meanwhile, slip to 18th under Wolves, a third successive defeat in the Premier League, leaving them a point from safety.
Closing: You saw how good we are
Liverpool boss Arne Slot:
“It sounds strange but I thought we had a very good start. We threatened them for six minutes but then there was a moment where we underestimated a situation and that immediately led to a chance and a goal and we have to work very hard to get there.” 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 took a game before we made it 3-1. Then I think you saw how good, we really are.”
On Liverpool's title loss, he added: “I don't look at it that way. It's a bit of a boring answer, but as a manager you take it one game at a time because you know how many games you have left to play and you mainly see the Premier League results you didn't expect because teams have so much quality.
“If it was the Eredivisie it might feel that way, but not in this competition.”
Salah back on target
Mohamed Salah from Liverpool to Amazon Prime:
“It's a good result. They were better in the first half, in the way they prepared, they were very good.
“The way they were positioned in front of the penalty area made it quite difficult for us, especially in the first half, but we still 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 and win the game. It's something he's practiced a lot in training. It was a great finish from him.”
Speaking about his own goal, Salah added: “It's great. The most important thing for me is that the team wins. Hopefully we win the Premier League and I have a big impact. We just have to concentrate and keep going.”
Cody Gakpo said of his goal: “We practice that a lot and they always say practice makes perfect, so we will keep practicing.
“Obviously we fell behind, we had to fight to get on level terms and we had some good chances. 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 fall behind. That's what we're working on, so we're not sloppy in the beginning.”
Salah reaches milestone – Opta statistics
Analysis: Is there anything left that can stop Liverpool?
By the time the final whistle blew, Ayew's opening goal felt like a distant memory. Remarkably, Leicester did not have a single shot after the 10th minute of the match.
Such is Liverpool's ability to suffocate their opponents. They remained calm after falling behind, even as they struggled to find their rhythm. But Salah is not their only game changer.
Gakpo is another. His equalizer was something beautiful and the result left no doubt after that. Liverpool took the lead shortly after half-time and Salah of course had to score his goal as well. In the end, it felt like as easy a win as Liverpool could have wished for.
It's been almost four months since they last lost a game. That performance in September against Nottingham Forest is increasingly looking like an aberration. The recent draws against Newcastle and Fulham also felt unusual, but Liverpool are now back in the flow.
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 probably also be top in May. It becomes difficult to see any other outcome.
Van Nistelrooy: Thanks to my team
Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy:
“We had the start we wanted. We knew we had to be compact, we had to defend well, defend crosses well, which we did and with a few breaks we were dangerous. We were in the game and at 2-1 we were got the opportunity with Patson Daka.
“These are the moments, in these types of games you have to take them. But only credit to the team, we were competitive and we were in the game for a long time.”
“It's up to us to keep developing, keep doing what we do, keep making game plans for every opponent and think how we can win the match. The players know what they have to do and they acted on it and today it was the maximum possible.
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