A Diogo Jota brace helped Liverpool comfortably down Leicester City.
Jota had opened the scoring on 34 minutes when Kasper Schmeichel parried Virgil van Dijk’s header at a corner into his path for a poacher’s finish.
The Portugal international added a second during the closing stages with a first-time hit after Joel Matip threaded a pass into The Kop penalty area.
Jurgen Klopp’s side maintained their current nine-point gap with Manchester City at the Premier League’s summit with Thursday’s third consecutive victory.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
First goal wins again for Jota
Diogo Jota is fast becoming a player that Liverpool cannot function without.
His goals helped tie Jurgen Klopp’s side over when Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were unavaiable due to their involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations.
After taking his tally for this season to 17 goals in all competitions, however, it is worth reflecting why he has become such a potent weapon for the Reds.
Not only is the Portugal international improving on an impressive debut campaign where he scored 13 times but his influence extends beyond that.
Jota’s instinctive first-half opener was the 11th time that he has broken the deadlock since the start of last season and Liverpool have held on for the win.
⚽️⚽️ @DiogoJota18 pic.twitter.com/NdUIhpyMLF#LFC #LIVLEI
— Liverpool FC news (@ClickLFC) February 10, 2022
That statistic emboldens The Kop’s new chant that he will steer their team to victory as this brace overpowered a dogged Leicester City on Thursday night.
Scoring first is often crucial in these games and Jota is already a master of it.
Salah returns with point to prove
Plenty has been made of Salah and Mane’s set-to in the AFCON final.
One returns to Anfield as a continental champion while the other will have to process the heartbreak of a penalty shootout defeat to their sparring partner.
Klopp forecast the disappointment of the tournament would drive his fallen talisman to achieve greater things in a red shirt, and Salah did not disappoint.
He was not wrong, as the Egypt captain’s substitute appearance in the second half showcased some of his finest technical attributes in a limited time frame.
Salah conjured two chances in as many minutes; first forcing a near-post stop from Kasper Schmeichel and another in a breakaway one-on-one chance.
But the 29-year-old refused to rest on his laurels with a curling effort from just inside the penalty area bouncing agonisingly off The Kop’s crossbar.
As Mane recuperated from Senegal’s triumphant homecoming, his cohort was setting about reigniting an already remarkable four-and-a-half year spell.
Diaz ready-made for Reds’ front line
Jota was not the only ex-Porto man making waves beneath the floodlights.
Fresh from an impressive FA Cup cameo against Cardiff City last weekend, Luis Diaz enhanced his rising stock in a full debut in the Premier League.
The Colombian stepped into the void left by a rested Mane and benched Salah to work in tandem with Jota and Roberto Firmino in Liverpool’s front three.
In the opening stages, he was a constant driving force on attacks and routinely tracked back when pressing became the priority for Klopp’s charges.
His link-up play with Andy Robertson proved so burgeoning that the Liverpool manxager allowed his January arrival to switch flanks during the second half.
Chances still proved limited for Diaz, with Schmeichel denying him just moments before Salah’s highly-anticipated introduction as a substitute.
Yet there are growing signs the 25-year-old is ready-made in an already well-stocked attack ahead of a critical juncture in the Premier League title race.