Liverpool disposed of Leicester to rack up back-to-back Premier League wins.
Jordan Ayew handed the visitors a surprise advantage as he beat Alisson with a shot on the turn inside the penalty area after just seven minutes’ play.
But Cody Gakpo restored parity in first-half added time by rifling a sublime rifled effort into The Kop’s net which left Jakub Stolarczyk grasping at air.
The Reds took the lead early in the second half when Curtis Jones slotted home after meeting Alexis Mac Allister’s low ball across the face of goal.
Mohamed Salah assured maximum points for the hosts in the closing stages with a squeezed effort inside the area which eluded several Foxes defenders.
Arne Slot’s side now sit seven points clear at the top flight’s summit with a game in hand after title rivals Chelsea’s loss to Fulham earlier on Thursday.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Gakpo is Reds’ new Mr Consistency
In recent years, Liverpool have received several belated Christmas gifts.
Friday marks the seventh anniversary of Virgil van Dijk’s signing being confirmed while Cody Gakpo’s own anniversary fell five years and a day later.
Gakpo even revealed the integral role his compatriot took on in the decision to snub Manchester United’s overtures in favour of a move to Anfield in 2022.
The pair are far more intertwined now that the Netherlands international has joined Van Dijk in becoming one of the Reds’ most consistent performers.
A sublime equaliser deep in first-half added time took Gakpo’s goal tally to double figures while he has also racked up eight in his last 13 appearances.
Had Darwin Nunez not maintained the habit of a lifetime in straying offside, the 25-year-old would have doubled his haul with a clinical close-range finish.
Versatility has been both a great strength and curse during Gakpo’s time on Merseyside; earning him regular runs but none in an established position.
Operating at left-wing, however, he appears to have finally reaching his apex as Liverpool’s most impactful forward behind an unrelenting Mohamed Salah.
New corner routine still needs work
Much of Liverpool’s title bid lends itself to work done on the training ground.
But while Arne Slot continues to fine-tune the cogs in his side’s well-oiled machine, some elements of his philosophy are further along than others..
Take the pattern of play that was followed religiously for corner kicks.
It became noticeable throughout the first half how as many as five players would position themselves beyond the far post before proceeding to swoop in.
Clearly there is a method behind the madness of this strategy but it actually made Slot’s charges too predictable for their relegation-threatened visitors.
Leicester’s backline was able to close off the planned swarm while Nunez, who excels largely as an agent of chaos, found himself hitting dead ends.
Slot continues to do plenty right in his fledgling reign, not least a previously unexpected title challenge, but the corner routine clearly needs some work.
Why title bid is same but different
Comparisons between this win and Liverpool’s dismantling of Leicester en route to their last Premier League were understandable and inescapable.
The ingredients are the same, with a late-evening Boxing Day encounter punctuated by a runaway lead and near-total dominance of their opponents.
Both are viewed thorugh the prism of the title seemingly destined to be winging its way into the Anfield trophy cabinet sometime in late May.
Yet that is where the comparisons truly begin and end for now.
Where Liverpool’s players were allowed to run riot exactly five years ago, the Foxes were far less passive on their latest trip to the red half of Merseyside.
Jurgen Klopp built a team which rode the highest highs while the slightest setback in their quest for domestic supremacy would be hugely derailing.
Slot’s measured approach has provided a semblance of perspective to those two extremes while retaining some of the previous title-winning traits.
