Mohamed Salah took his tally to 23 goals this season as Liverpool edged out Leicester City.

Things got off to a far from ideal start at Anfield as a poor pass by Joel Matip allowed the visitors to stage a counter-attack and Jamie Vardy a simple tap-in.

A series of chances were missed by the Reds, notably Salah, in a frustrating first half while Sadio Mane saw a potential equaliser disallowed for offside.

But Salah found redemption after the break, first slotting home after superb footwork before turning his man and repeating the finish not long after.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Reds ending where they want to be

 

When assessing the first half of this season, Liverpool will consider it a job well done.

Manchester City may be running away with the Premier League title but the Reds would not have had league ambitions this season anyway.

Their aspiration will have been to secure Champions League football again and they will enter the New Year firmly on course to do.

A win over Leicester City maintained their top four place and this team are currently averaging 1.9 points a game, a tally that would see them finish with 72 in total.

It may be fewer than the 76 they managed last season but still would have been enough to see them earn a seat at Europe’s top table in four of the last six seasons.

Jurgen Klopp will be more than happy with that.

Counting down the day for Van Dijk

 

It appears Liverpool cannot afford to give Virgil Van Dijk time to settle in.

Just when their defence was starting to improve, it went and provided everyone with a timely reminder of why they just paid £75 million for the Dutchman.

This time it was Joel Matip, his suicidal short ball throwing Emre Can into danger and handing Jamie Vardy one of the easiest goals he will ever score.

It’s these kinds of mistakes that have haunted Liverpool for years and what continue to hold them back at the top of the table.

If Van Dijk is the key to solving the issue, he needs to be slotted in at the earliest opportunity; an FA Cup tie against Everton is not a bad motivation.

No distractions for Coutinho or Can

 

The January window should prove to be an interesting one at Anfield, more so for those that could be leaving rather than feted arrivals.

This week saw Emre Can again linked with Juventus while Barcelona are continuing their less-than-subtle charm offensive on Philippe Coutinho.

Neither are likely to leave, not until the summer at least, but it would be somewhat understandable if either was somewhat distracted.

Fortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Coutinho was as creative as ever while Can was bullish to the extreme, at one point nearly coming to blows with Foxes defender Harry Maguire.

Their futures may lie elsewhere but at the minute, both remain 100 per cent dedicated to the current cause.

Salah refuses to slow down

 

To say it’s been a busy year for Mohamed Salah would be an understatement.

He’s guided his country to the World Cup in Russia and made a flying start to life at Liverpool as well.

For a normal player, those exertions would start to show at this time of year but Salah is no normal player, that is certain now.

The Egyptian already has played over 2,000 minutes of football for Jurgen Klopp’s side to date and is showing no signs of that having any effect on him.

Goals no.22 and 23 came with ease; even after he had missed two clear-cut chances in the first half.

Harry Kane faces a fight to keep his hands on the Golden Boot again at the end of the season; Salah has no intentions of ending that chase yet.