Liverpool seal Christmas top spot as Salah and Van Dijk sink Wolves

Published On: December 22, 2018 11:21 AM NPT By: Reuters

Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - December 21, 2018 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their first goal with Virgil van Dijk REUTERS/Darren Staples

WOLVERHAMPTON, England (Reuters) - WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 0 LIVERPOOL 2

Dec 22: Liverpool will spend Christmas on top of the Premier League after goals from Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk earned them a 2-0 win at Wolves on Friday, opening up a four-point lead over second-placed Manchester City.

City can reduce the gap back to a point with a win over Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, but Juergen Klopp’s unbeaten side will now enjoy their Christmas dinner perched in first place.

Only two teams — Chelsea in 2005-06 and City last season — have had more points after 18 Premier League games in a season than Liverpool’s 48 and the January 3 clash between Pep Guardiola’s side and Klopp’s men promises to be an epic.

It was by no means a vintage display from Liverpool in driving rain but this was a game which, coming after the high of Sunday’s triumph over Manchester United, could have been a stumbling block for Klopp’s side.

“It was clear that the whole game would be difficult. Everybody wants to press. We want to be compact but wide as well which makes it difficult. We defended it pretty well. The heavy rain was difficult for both teams tonight. It was a big fight. We knew that we needed to be ready,” said Klopp.

“It was brilliant — both goals. It was perfect football, especially on a night like tonight when it was difficult to play proper football,” added the German.