JURGEN KLOPP shocked English football and caused total panic on Merseyside in the first month of this year by announcing his departure from Liverpool.
Yet we leave 2024 with Klopp’s old team in unbelievable shape, better than any of us could have imagined once Klopp dropped the bombshell that he had run out of steam.
Liverpool now enter 2025 with a proper swagger. They are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League, and threatening to run riot in the second half of the season.
Yes, the big problem for Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and even second-placed Nottingham Forest, is that this team under Arne Slot is only just starting to go through the gears and they are getting better and more menacing by the week.
Liverpool took apart a feeble West Ham at the London Stadium and could have got seven or eight if they really wanted to.
Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and substitute Diogo Jota chipped in with the goals against Julen Lopetegui’s awful team.
After a run of four games without defeat, Lopetegui has a bit of credit and you cannot judge any side against this current Liverpool team who are currently the best in the country by some distance.
Two of Liverpool’s scorers were playing their last games before they are free to talk to clubs overseas from January 1.
Salah struck for the 17th time in the Premier League this season while he also delivered a couple of assists bringing that tally to 13.
Alexander-Arnold grabbed his first goal of the season while completing the out-of-contract trio is Virgil van Dijk and he will not have many easier games than this at the back this season.
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Due to Lukasz Fabianski’s injury, keeper Alphonese Areola was making his first start since being dropped in October and was threatening to deliver a one-man supershow to defy the leaders.
But after finally being beaten by in-form Diaz, who seems to enjoy playing in his more central wrong, it went horribly wrong for Areola and the rest of his team who could desperately do with a new central striker arriving next month as second half sub Niclas Fullkrug does not look the answer.
Liverpool, who lost the injured Joe Gomez before the break, now face Manchester United on Sunday and that is certainly a fixture which will not scare them.
Yet no-one frightens Slot’s team, not in England, not in Europe, as they also lead the Champions League table.
At first today, Liverpool missed a few chances. You would have put a fair amount of money on Salah to score from close range but he fired a shot too close to Areola although it was still a decent save.
The Egyptian then delivered a brilliant pass to create an opportunity for Curtis Jones but he, too, could find no way past Areola who then delivered his best save of the half was to push over an effort from Luis Diaz
Yet finally, Diaz got the goal that Liverpool had been threatening and it all became a bit straightforward after that.
The Colombian was trying to thread the ball towards Jones but the pass came off Vladimir Coufal and bounced back into Diaz's path.
Areola was not getting anywhere near a drilled first-time shot into the corner.
Liverpool’ keeper Alisson, barely troubled all game, was saved by his left post as Mohammed Kudus came agonisingly close to grabbing a leveller and after that, it was downhill all the way for West Ham.
Diaz delivered a sublime first touch to Salah, he skilfully got past Dinos Mavropanos but lost control of the ball and it bobbled towards Gakpo who had a simple tap-in.
Before half-time, it just got worse for the locals, some of whom decided to head home once Areola failed to keep out a shot by Salah.
It all started when Carlos Soler had been robbed of the ball by Alexis Mac Allister.
Alexander-Arnold, whose previous goal came away to Fulham in April, chipped in with a strike, Ryan Gravenberch delivering the assist, although the 25-yard drive took a heavy deflection off Max Kilman.
With six minutes left, Salah led a counter attack and West Ham’s defence could not get near him before he rolled the ball to Jota, who had replaced the impressive Gakpo, and Areola could only get a hand to the shot.
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