To quote Merseyside native Paul McCartney, Liverpool fans were simply having a wonderful Christmastime, as the Reds returned from the World Cup break with all three points against Aston Villa and unexpectedly beat Manchester United to the signature of in-demand Netherlands attacker Cody Gakpo.
Amid the excitement of another high-profile attacking arrival in January, Liverpool did find themselves thanking their lucky stars on occasion against Aston Villa, but strikes from Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic rendered Ollie Watkins’s response inconsequential.
Coming away from the West Midlands with all three points did not impact Liverpool’s standing in the top flight, with the Reds still rooted to sixth place, but Tottenham Hotspur’s draw against Brentford means that Jurgen Klopp’s team are now just five points behind the fourth-placed Lilywhites, who have played a game more.
Rounding off a highly successful but also topsy-turvy 2022 with a sixth competitive win on the bounce is no less than the Anfield faithful expect this week, and only one of their last 31 Premier League home games has ended in defeat, although that did come at the hands of Leeds United only two months ago.
However, the Reds’ top-flight scoring streak at Anfield does stand at a whopping 31 matches since a 1-0 loss to Fulham in March 2021, and not since their days in the second tier in 1961 have they suffered consecutive defeats in their final game of the calendar year, but there are no prizes for guessing which team made Liverpool’s end to 2021 a miserable one.
Another day, another set-piece goal against Leicester City, who went into Boxing Day aiming to go toe-to-toe with a Newcastle United team sweeping aside almost everybody in their wake, but the King Power faithful consigned their team to defeat by the half-time whistle.
Chris Wood’s penalty, Miguel Almiron’s composed finish and Joelinton’s header wrapped up the three points for the Magpies in the first half, as Brendan Rodgers’s side reverted to a shadow of their former selves after conceding just one goal in seven games prior to the World Cup break.
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healthy four points still separates the 13th-placed Foxes from the drop zone, so the visitors to Anfield will enter 2023 above the dotted line no matter what transpires in this week’s fixtures, but this calendar year will not be looked back on too fondly by those in blue.
On a brighter note, Leicester can certainly be encouraged by a string of wins away from home, recording four straight victories on the road in all competitions and keeping four clean sheets to boot, including Premier League successes at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton and West Ham United.
As ex-Liverpool boss Rodgers knows, though, Anfield is a different kettle of fish, and Liverpool eased to a 2-0 success over the Foxes in February after ending 2021 with a 1-0 loss to Leicester at the King Power, but the travelling fans will not be optimistic about lightning striking twice
