The 100th home Premier League goal from Mo Salah settled this game in the final ten minutes, 3-1 the final score with strikes from Curtis Jones and a late first-half equaliser from Cody Gakpo cancelling out a lead for Leicester, courtesy of Ayew.
In truth, Liverpool were far from their best in the first hand, at a fog-bound Anfield, and the home crowd fell silent as Leicester opened the scoring inside ten minutes. Andy Robertson was outmuscled in the penalty box, as a shot from Ayew deflected off Virgil van Dijk’s heel past Alisson Becker. It was just about the only time the Foxes had got as far as Liverpool’s penalty box, but Liverpool laboured to find a leveller. A little too predictable; too slow with their passing, and the away side’s net living something of a charmed life, all contributed to Liverpool’s frustration.
Man of the match Gakpo deservedly drew his side level, but it took until injury time in the first half for Liverpool to score. The Flying Dutchman cut in from the left, before unleashing an unstoppable shot, that curled beyond the despairing Leicester goalkeeper.
Having seen Chelsea drop points earlier in the day, and witnessed once more the implosion of Manchester City, they knew a seven-point lead was within their grasp with a victory. However, better, quicker football would be needed to take all three points. Thankfully, it was just minutes into the second half when Curtis Jones put Liverpool in front. A close-range left-footed finish in front of the Anfield Road end finally being given, after a lengthy VAR check.
For the remainder of the second half, Liverpool were imperious, completely dominating a relegation-threatened Leicester City who’d failed to have a shot on target since the tenth minute. Yet, it wasn’t until an otherwise less-than-brilliant Salah put the game beyond the visitors just after eighty minutes, that the points were secure. Having had a third goal earlier ruled out by VAR, there was no doubt attached to the sublime finish from the Egyptian, as he stroked home a left-foot finish into the corner of the net, from just inside the penalty box.
With nine minutes of additional time, Leicester may have feared a mauling in the final fifteen minutes. It wasn’t to be though, as Arne Slot brought on Diogo Jota for the largely ineffectual Darwin Nunez, while Jones made way for Dominik Szoboszlai. Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott were also introduced in the final minutes as Liverpool, now 14 points clear of the champions, easily saw out the game. They now sit comfortably at the top of the tree heading into the New Year.
