Georginio Wijnaldum’s first-half header was enough to help Liverpool edge out Manchester City in the battle between two of the Premier League’s top three.

The Dutch midfielder powered home from an Adam Lallana cross within eight minutes allowed the hosts to maintain a healthy pace with leaders Chelsea.

Jurgen Klopp’s side enjoyed large spells of dominance in the first half as City struggled to truly threaten the Reds’ goal in the opening 45 minutes.

After the interval the visitors unseated that early dominance but the Reds held on to retain a six-point bridge between themselves and the current leaders.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield…

Anfield’s year ends on a banner note

 

Liverpool probably have as much cause as any to not look back on 2016 with any particular fondness following last May’s Europa League final surrender to Sevilla.

Ever the optimist, however, Jurgen Klopp refuses to believe that his side’s cause is a lost one, as a record breaking year-end statistics has now proved.

Not since 1985 had the Reds notched 87 league goals in a calendar year. No learned Kopite needs a reminder of what followed in the six months after that.

It is an omen which bodes well for Liverpool after a year which has been defined by an accelerated transition period under their effusive German manager.

Lallana is Europe’s star man

 

Adam Lallana has now been involved in 14 of Liverpool’s goals this season. Some would argue it is the least his original £20 million outlay demanded.

But as both an architect and assistant in equal measure, the England international continues to take on an elevated sense of importance under Klopp’s tutelage.

And the rest of Europe is already beginning to sit up and take note.

No other midfielder in continent’s top five leagues has had a hand in more goals during the current campaign than Lallana in his 17 matches in all competitions.

Had injury not prevented him becoming an ever-present this season, the tally would undoubtedly have been higher, as would Liverpool’s points tally.

‘Gini’ needs more than home comforts

 

Wijnaldum had vowed to add goals to his repertoire at the start of the season and appears to be coming good on that promise at least.

But it seems that his scoring streak remains restricted to outings on home soil.

This was a 13th successive league goal for both Liverpool and Newcastle where the Dutch midfielder had found the target without leaving his comfort zone.

It was a powerful header and one worthy of winning this encounter but the target was to break into double figures during a debut campaign in a red shirt.

He will not do that if only the Kop are privileged enough to witness those feats.

Gegenpressing trumps Tiki Taka

 

It was a battle of wills which came down to the superiority of either ‘tiki taka’ or Gegenpressing.

Pep Guardiola may have reintroduced the former to football’s consciousness but he was no match for Jurgen Klopp’s trademark, high-intensity approach.

City barely laid a glove on Liverpool throughout the 94 minutes, save for a spell of half-chances as ascendancy grew after the interval but amounted to little.

They were rarely afforded time to regroup whenever moves broke down due to the relentlessness shown by the hosts in chasing down every loose ball.

Raheem Sterling, in particular, saw his impact highly limited due to James Milner’s shackling at regular intervals, not least during the first half.

But most telling of all was that a returning Sergio Aguero failed to have a solitary touch in Simon Mignolet’s area and was increasingly isolated up front.