Liverpool came from behind at Anfield on Boxing Day to move 7 points clear at the top of the Premier League table, despite suffering an unexpected scare when Jordan Ayew opened the scoring inside the opening ten minutes.
Just six minutes had passed amidst dense fog on Merseyside when Ayew spun expertly inside the penalty box to despatch a well-placed finish past Alisson – and while Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side looked set to be heading into half-time with the lead, Cody Gakpo had other ideas as he netted the equaliser in stoppage time.
Curtis Jones swung proceedings in Liverpool’s favour for the first time as the second half resumed, but the Reds were then denied by a VAR check shortly after the hour mark as an offside Darwin Núñez resulted in Gakpo’s second strike being disallowed.
But inside the final ten minutes, Mohamed Salah found Liverpool’s third goal in trademark fashion to wrap up what was, in the end, a comfortable Boxing Day win.
As it happened
Amidst low, dense fog at Anfield, a frenetic and fast-paced start to proceedings saw Mohamed Salah strike the woodwork early on, with Leicester City just able to nip the ball away from Curtis Jones before the midfielder could tuck home the rebound.
Arne Slot’s side would quickly come to rue that missed chance, as Leicester flooded forward through Stephy Mavididi on the left flank and delivered a teasing low ball into Jordan Ayew, whose inclusion in the squad raised eyebrows from some Foxes fans prior to kickoff. Their doubts were quickly settled though, with the Ghanaian spinning and burying a fine effort into the bottom corner to give the visitors an unexpected lead.
Embed from Getty ImagesLiverpool appeared shellshocked and came within inches of falling further behind as James Justin’s deflected shot earned a corner that was volleyed over the bar by Bilal El Khannous. The hosts were fragile defensively, and they weren’t exactly free-flowing in attack either.
Andy Robertson’s cross was nodded wide of the post by Darwin Núñez before being denied by the woodwork himself 15 minutes later – and his poor night didn’t end there, with a free-kick in the final minutes of the half sailing well wide too.
But Liverpool headed into the break on level pegging, a Cody Gakpo equaliser providing respite as an exceptional finish saw the Dutchman cut in from the left and curl into the far corner with power and precision.
Thursday’s hosts emerged from the break on the front foot, firing themselves into the lead inside five minutes of the second half as Jones netted his 10th career Premier League goal on his 100th appearance in the competition. A lengthy VAR check ensued, but the midfielder was ultimately deemed onside as he slammed home from an Alexis Mac Allister cross.
Embed from Getty ImagesYet there would still be further twists to this tale, and a four-minute VAR check after Gakpo’s 68th-minute strike saw the Dutchman denied his double. Salah had initially teed up Núñez, who eventually was found to be in an offside position as he received the pass.
But Liverpool’s third goal would come, and through none other than Salah. With less than ten minutes remaining on the matchday clock, the Egyptian received a stunning pass from Gakpo and jinked into the box before despatching past Jakub Stolarczyk.
Arne Slot’s side sit 7 points clear at the top of the Premier League table ahead of their trip to West Ham’s London Stadium on Sunday. Leicester City remain in the relegation zone as they prepare to host a struggling Manchester City side.
The lineups
LIV: Alisson; Robertson, van Dijk, Gomez, Alexander-Arnold; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Gakpo, Jones, Salah; Núñez
LEI: Stolarczyk; Kristiansen, Vestergaard, Coady, Justin; Soumaré, Winks; Mavididi, El Khannous, Ayew; Daka
FEATURED IMAGE: Tom McAtee