Latest triumph shows Liverpool’s Premier League lead is built on more than just stars and starters
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Liverpool 3-1 Leicester: Salah wrapped up the win but Gakpo produced a masterclass this time. Liverpool are accustomed to singing about walking through the storm. They had to walk through the fog here, losing their way when Leicester City took the lead. But they ended up striding seven points clear at the Premier League summit, with the bonus that they retain a game in hand on second-place Chelsea.
![[Cody Gakpo celebrates after scoring Liverpool’s first goal against Leicester (Peter Byrne/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/26/22/20a91ce554ca512daa7790f84a90c9cbY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM1MzM2OTk2-2.78572665.jpg)
Comebacks were supposed to be Jurgen Klopp’s forte. If Arne Slot has overseen more than he would ideally like, the latest was both required and executed. The reward was a 22nd win in 26 games under the Dutchman. In a division where so many others are consistently inconsistent, Liverpool stand out as the exception to the rule.
It helps that they have a sizeable cast of match-winners. If Mohamed Salah tops the bill, he also completed victory, bending in a shot to get the goal that eluded him when he drew a fine save and then hit the bar. Yet the game was decided by Cody Gakpo and Curtis Jones, two who began the season on the bench and who might not figure in Slot’s first-choice team. Gakpo pressed his case to do so, joining Salah and the rested Luis Diaz in double figures for the season with a superlative equaliser and ending his night with an assist as well.
It had a particular cruelty for the beaten manager. Gakpo improved in his six months under Ruud van Nistelrooy at PSV Eindhoven. He repaid him by cancelling out Leicester’s advantage with a strike that condemned an influence on his career to a night in the relegation zone. Not that Gakpo’s goal, a stunning strike from 25 yards, seemed to come from Van Nistelrooy’s repertoire: he scored famously few from outside the penalty area. But it brought a turnaround that Liverpool had always threatened.
