Mo Salah completes Liverpool's recovery to sink Leicester and extend the lead | first division

Liverpool have kicked off at 8pm on Boxing Day twice in their history. The first time was in 2019, when Jürgen Klopp's team demolished Leicester on the way to winning the first division title with ease. The second time ended with another convincing defeat for the Foxes. Maybe that's not the only repetition.

The Arne Slot leader moved seven points away from his closest pursuers for the title, with a game in hand, thanks to a controlled comeback against Ruud van Nistelrooy's team. Leicester took a surprising early lead through Jordan Ayew and, although Liverpool never quite reached the top of their 2019 performance at the King Power Stadium, goals from Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah in the number 19 of the season ensured that the result would remain the same.

Anfield was shrouded in fog during the night kick-off, but Liverpool There was an opportunity to put the light between them and Chelsea after a string of perfect results elsewhere on Boxing Day.

The league leaders' prospects looked healthy against a Leicester team who had been soundly beaten in their previous two games and who had a Premier League debutant in goal. Jakub Stolarczyk replaced Danny Ward as a result of the merciless bombing the Wales goalkeeper received from his own fans in Leicester's 3-0 defeat to Wolves on Sunday.

“It's not ideal,” Van Nistelrooy previously admitted. “But the circumstances with Wardy were intense, we all felt it and that puts you in a position where you have to make decisions.”

The Leicester manager's decision paid off early on as Stolarczyk and his struggling visitors tormented Liverpool into first-half stoppage time. The Polish goalkeeper made an excellent double save to deny Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones from Liverpool's first significant attack. Trent Alexander-Arnold superbly switched play towards Gakpo on the left, and his cross found Salah arriving unmarked at the far post. Stolarczyk denied Liverpool's top scorer from close range before pushing the ball away from Jones' toes as the midfielder attempted to pounce on the rebound.

A temporary pause took on added importance two minutes later when Leicester took the lead through a clinical counter-attack. The impressive Bilal El Khannouss, a tireless and creative force, released Stephy Mavididi in space on the left. Mavididi's low cross somehow crossed the Liverpool penalty area to the feet of Jordan Ayew, who turned Andy Robertson with ease before finding the bottom corner of Alisson's net.

Ayew's shot deflected slightly off Virgil van Dijk's heel en route. Leicester's sizeable and delirious commuter contingent couldn't care less.

Cue Liverpool's inevitable response, albeit interrupted by too many errant passes, sloppy touches and excessive deliveries. Mavididi could have had a second assist after Victor Kristiansen intercepted Darwin Nunez's cross-field fumble. Patson Daka ran into a gaping hole in the center of Liverpool's defence, but this time Mavididi missed his pass and Liverpool escaped.

Robertson almost gave Gakpo a magnificent ball over the Leicester rearguard, but the Dutch international was called for offside. Salah saw a shot from Kristiansen and just over the crossbar after a poor clearance by Stolarczyk gifted possession to Robertson. From the resulting corner, Alexander-Arnold crossed at the second attempt and the Scottish captain's header hit the post. The ball bounced off the Leicester goalkeeper and rolled away.

Salah, having unleashed another volley that invited Gakpo across the goal, also hit the post as Harry Winks lost possession deep in the Liverpool half and the hosts counterattacked incisively. The Egyptian international cut in with his trusty left foot and fired against the crossbar.

Frustration was mounting, especially when only two minutes were added at the end of the first half. It turned out to be quite long. Receiving a pass from Alexis Mac Allister in the corner of the penalty area, Gakpo beat James Justin and fired an unstoppable shot inside Stolarczyk's left post. It was the striker's tenth goal of the season and it lifted the tension, if not the fog.

Liverpool were in control immediately after the restart. Nunez shot over when Ryan Gravenberch pulled the ball back from the baseline. Mac Allister found himself in a similar position to his teammate in midfield after a fluid one-touch move involving Jones and Salah. The Argentine midfielder shot low into the six-yard box and Jones was perfectly placed to convert. A long wait followed as the video assistant referee checked for a possible offside against Salah early in the build-up. There was a second, tedious pause in the game when VAR took forever to determine that Nunez was offside before Gakpo scored what would have been Liverpool's third.

Núñez could have scored the third before Gakpo's disallowed shot, but Stolarczyk had a good reaction and saved the forward's first shot. Daka should have at least tested Alisson when Mavididi broke and delivered another pinpoint cross from the left. The Leicester striker got ahead of his marker but missed in the air.

Salah banished any chance of a Leicester comeback (a slim prospect, admittedly) with a brilliant, trademark finish. Gakpo's lofted pass found the striker in space on the right. Only Salah saw the chance to seal the victory as he advanced on Kristiansen. After considering his options, he curled a magnificent shot between the Leicester left-back and Jannik Vestergaard into the far bottom corner. Salah and Liverpool seem unstoppable.