There was plenty of festive joy for the men in red after they delivered an early Christmas present in the form of a 7-0 win which extended their buffer at the top of the table.
Jurgen Klopp‘s men put on the afterburners at Selhurst Park as they made Palace feel their wrath in front of goal, with five different Reds etching their name on the scoresheet.
Takumi Minamino was the man to kickstart the party with his first Premier League goal before the dam wall opened and a further six found the net in the last 50 minutes.
The victory ensured Liverpool consolidated their place at the summit following their midweek win over Tottenham, meaning a third successive Christmas at the top of the table was secured.
It means the Reds can now sit back and watch the rest of the weekend’s results fall as they may, safe in the knowledge that they are untouchable.
For Andy Robertson, he was one of seven different players to provide an assist for the same team in one game for the first time in the history of the Premier League after teeing up Roberto Firmino‘s first.
In doing so he moved into the top five of the Premier League‘s all-time assist-making defender, but the left-back was full of admiration for Liverpool’s ruthlessness across the board:
“We wanted to be ruthless in everything we did. Crystal Palace had also played Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday and are maybe not as used to it as we are so we wanted to come out of the blocks fast.
“It was just about being ruthless in everything we did, whether it was counter-pressing, defending, taking our chances.
“We just tried to do it all over the park and luckily for us we took pretty much every chance that fell to us.
“Some great finishing and we were ruthless at the back as well and starved them of many chances.
“That’s two games on the trot that I’ve assisted him and I’m delighted because I think a lot gets said about Bobby, I think unfairly, so the fact he’s got two in two is amazing and it was a great finish from him.”
Jordan Henderson echoed Liverpool’s ruthless approach when speaking to LFCTV, but conceded the scoreline did not reflect the challenge Palace posed.
The skipper, who found the net for Liverpool’s fourth, was delighted that his side backed up the midweek performance and welcomed the return of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain:
“In periods in the first half, it was more difficult than people might think. They created one or two half-chances so a little bit sloppy at times.
“But, overall, after a big week it was important to get the result and we did that and, to be fair, the performance was good as well.
“Very good goals all over. I felt as though it was coming because the last few games we’ve had good chances and maybe not finished the game off quicker than we should of. But today we were ruthless.
“Very nice to see Ox back. He’s been working extremely hard to get back. He’s looking sharp and he did well when he came on so the more minutes he can get the better.”
Liverpool’s No. 15 made his first appearance since the end of last season off the bench and got straight back to business by setting up Salah in the dying stages.
And after waiting so long to get back on the pitch, Ox could not hide his delight with the occasion being marked by a “big win”:
The first goalscorer in Minamino lauded a “great team performance,” with Bobby echoing the sentiment on what was a memorable day for the duo:
Alarm bells were hilariously ringing for Robbo, however, as Bobby’s teammates were reminded of the danger of his brilliant karate kicks in the aftermath of goals:
It was a “lovely afternoon” at the office for Fabinho and Gini Wijnaldum, on the other hand, as they watched the magic unfold from the best seats in the house:
And it was an enjoyable watch for James Milner in the comfort of his home as he concluded that the “boys decided to hold their own goal of the month competition today.”
Question is, who got his vote?
The victory was the ideal early present for the Liverpool faithful and both Hendo and Trent wished fans a very “Merry Christmas”:
You really couldn’t have asked for a better gift in the week leading up to Christmas, with Liverpool firmly positioned at the top of the table.
For all of the hurdles Klopp’s side have had to overcome, it truly is a sign of their incredible mental fortitude and there is undoubtedly more to come from this side.
For now, a well-deserved eight-day break awaits before Sam Allardyce’s West Brom visit Anfield on December 27.
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