Christmas continued on Boxing Day across Merseyside. Already top of the table, Liverpool increased their lead after overpowering Newcastle United 4-0 at Anfield.
The win, combined with another unlikely Manchester City capitulation, means the Reds now lead the league by six points. City’s slide means dropping to third behind Tottenham Hotspur. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the league continues unabated.
Jurgen Klopp picked up his 100th victory since taking the Liverpool reigns and logged the club’s best half season point in the Premier League era with 51. Not a bad day to be the Reds’ gaffer. Despite all the positives, he remains right to dismiss all title talk. Yet at the midpoint, Liverpool continue to look stronger than they have at any point in recent memory.
It took the Reds about 10 minutes to settle into the contest, definitely looking a little open as Newcastle sniffed out a couple of early half chances. Yet, Liverpool never looked panicked or in doubt.
They picked up the tempo and scored early to enforce their advantage when Dejan Lovren pounced on a poor clearance, belting a half-volley into the roof of the net in the 11th minute.
It took until the second half opened before Liverpool increased their lead, after Mo Salah went down and scored the subsequent penalty. The Egyptian continues to soar, yet again scoring and assisting. Later, Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabinho added goals in the last 10 minutes to seal the result emphatically.
Here are four findings from the match.
