Liverpool sealed the Premier League’s top spot at Christmas with a seven-goal demolition of Crystal Palace.

Takumi Minamino gave the reigning champions an early lead, firing home from close range inside just three minutes after Sadio Mane’s lay-off.

Provider to finisher half an hour later when Mane doubled the advantage for Jurgen Klopp’s side with a sharp finish from the edge of the box.

A third arrived just before half time as Roberto Firmino met a trademark Andy Robertson cross before nonchalantly rolling the ball past Vicente Guaita.

Jordan Henderson rubbed salt into the wounds early in the second half with an exquisite drilled finish from distance after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s lay-off.

Firmino’s dink over Guaita doubled his personal tally some 16 minutes later, before Mohamed Salah added a sixth in meeting Joel Matip’s header.

The Egyptian, on as a substitute, then curled home a stunning long-range effort to complete the rout and become the Premier League’s top scorer.

Here were the key talking points from Selhurst Park:

Mane on the mark again

 

Proof of how inspired signing Sadio Mane has been for Liverpool that the past nine games without a goal constitutes his worst-ever drought in four years.

But after the Senegalese’s lean spell, with just one strike in 14 prior outings, Jurgen Klopp will be delighted with his timely return to form at Selhurst Park.

It was a trademark goal; using lightning feet to swivel away from ex-Reds defender Nathaniel Clyne before thrashing the ball past a helpless Vicente Guaita.

Facing Crystal Palace clearly agrees with Mane, too, with a scoring streak of seven consecutive games against them – more than any Premier League side.

With Diogo Jota likely out for another six weeks, Klopp needs his front three firing, especially with Mohamed Salah reduced to a cameo from the bench.

Mane back on the score sheet alongside Roberto Firmino netting in successive games means the Liverpool manager will be hoping for a Christmas goal glut.

Fringe pair starting to kick on

 

A hectic festive programme meant Klopp understandably shuffled his pack as Salah and Curtis Jones became notable absentees from Liverpool’s starting XI.

Doing so allowed him to give starting berths to two players whose respective Anfield careers have yet to truly ignite in Takumi Minamino and Naby Keita.

That show of faith paid off handsomely as one ended up breaking the deadlock while the other assuredly went about his business in midfield.

In his 18th Premier League game, Minamino broke his goal duck inside three minutes with a clinical finish and excelled operating in a more central role.

The Japan international moved up front after Firmino was substituted off and provided a constant threat, almost netting a second after the half-time break.

Keita was quieter but just as efficient in a deeper midfield role, making four interceptions as well as winning all three of his tackles against the Eagles.

Before the win over Tottenham, Klopp admitted that Keita had ‘no rhythm’ in the side due to persistent injury problems throughout his time on Merseyside.

This performance, coupled with completing a league match for the first time in 12 months, should offer the Liverpool manager greater encouragement.

No fatigue in rampant Reds

 

Given their injuries, and the fact this was their 22nd game this season, any form of potential let-up from Liverpool would have been understandable.

But ahead of their first free midweek since mid-September, Klopp’s side delivered what is comfortably their most devastating display of the campaign.

There was no semblance of tiredness as they played with the handbrake off virtually from the moment Minamino put them ahead in the opening stages.

Liverpool had never won by seven goals away from home in their top-flight history, and previously gone five games on the road without tasting victory.

Having fluctuated at times, this was more like the team we’ve grown accustomed to under Klopp as wave upon wave of attacks proved impossible for Palace to repel.

If they can maintain this ruthlessness in the second half of the season, successfully defending their Premier League crown appears inevitable.

On this evidence, maybe Klopp won’t need those extra two substitutes after all.

TAA reaches latest milestone in style

 

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 150th Liverpool appearance at just 22 underlines how quickly he has become an influential figure for his boyhood heroes.

In some ways, it felt fitting that this latest milestone should arrive in a game where the man he usurped at right-back, Clyne, was his opposite number.

Alexander-Arnold has been eased back into first-team action since last month’s injury but showed signs of returning to his most devastating form.

He set the tone early on, supplying an inch-perfect long ball for Mane, which allowed his teammate to duly provide for Minamino to open the scoring.

Firmino’s second goal also stemmed from a carbon copy pass from Liverpool’s no.66, whose clearance fell right into Salah’s path to set up the Brazilian.

In between those goals, Alexander-Arnold notched his second league assist of the season with a perfectly-weighted pass to Henderson on the edge of the area.

His corner delivery from which Joel Matip found Salah to steer in was another sign of a player whose experience and quality belies his relatively young age.