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Liverpool produced a masterclass by finishing to win at Crystal Palace and ensuring they were number one at Christmas for the third year in a row in the Premier League.
With Mohamed Salah alone on the bench at Selhurst Park, Takumi Minamino seized his chance with a first league goal a year after signing for the club before the old guard scored the points in the capital.
Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino added more goals in the first half, the latter after a skillful counterattack, before four more goals were produced clinically after the break.
Firmino completed a double after Jordan Henderson’s curling iron and Salah was able to score a double during a 33-minute cameo to send a statement to the chasing group.
Crystal Palace had plenty of chances early on, but couldn’t take any more points away from a title challenger, having limited Tottenham to a 1-1 draw last weekend, and based on this evidence, it looks like the championship of the league will go to Merseyside. for another season.
FULL MATCH DETAILS
The Reds returned to the top with a 2-1 win over Spurs on Wednesday, a game in which Salah opened the scoring, but was only on the bench for this clash. Minamino, in the absence of the injured Diogo Jota, had an opportunity and only needed three minutes to take advantage of it.
The orderly build-up game between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mane saw the Japanese ace inside the box and worked a meter of space before drilling into the bottom corner. It was Minamino’s first goal in the Premier League at age 18 of asking for it.
Palace pressed next and produced a series of starts with the best in the 24th minute when Jordan Ayew ran into the area but instead of shooting Alisson he looked to cut back for Wilfried Zaha and the pass was behind his unmarked teammate.
Palace nearly paid for their wastefulness five minutes later when Patrick Van Aanholt’s back pass went to Minamino, but the Liverpool striker cut widely under pressure and after a deflection.
It was a short-lived respite for the Eagles, who gave in to a familiar foe as Mane took the lead against the south London club for the seventh straight game with 36 left.
Gary Cahill appeared to thwart the danger with a strong tackle to Minamino, but Firmino gave a pass to his other attacking partner and the Senegal international fired into the bottom corner.
While Roy Hodgson would have wondered how his team were two goals behind, even he would have admired the speed of Liverpool’s third a minute before the break.
Firmino fainted to Andrew Robertson and the left-back embarked on a characteristic run before delivering his usual level of quality in the final third.
In space to pick up his perfect inch center was Firmino, who added to his goal against Spurs on Wednesday with another after a confident push into the corner to make it 3-0.
Palace came out first after the break, but Liverpool needed just seven minutes of the second period to find the net once more as captain Henderson huddled at home after an Alexander-Arnold cut.
As the heavens opened in SE25, Jurgen Klopp showed no mercy and introduced 14-goal Salah in the 57th minute despite Mane being reluctant to come out.
The former Southampton striker probably felt there were more opportunities to seize and he was right, with his replacement assisting Firmino for his second in the 68th minute.
Firmino controlled the pass gracefully and took it in stride before overtaking Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita to move to five goals for the season and show a new level of confidence after his midweek goal.
Following his role as creator, Salah demonstrated his predatory instincts with a close range header nine minutes from time after a corner kick and had one more special save in reserve.
The Egyptian cut in and shot into the top corner from outside the area in the 84th minute to make it seventh heaven for Liverpool, who despite a long injured list remain the team to beat in the title race.
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