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Liverpool eased to a boxing day win over Swansea City to climb back to the fourth spot after Tottenham had temporarily jumped over them following their win over Southampton. After what was an okay first half, Liverpool turned on the style in the second half as a brace from Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made it a one-sided scoreline.
Going into the game, there were presumptions that Klopp might rotate his squad once again, but rather surprisingly, he played a strong lineup which did the trick. The five goals scored took Liverpool's overall goals tall to 46, the second highest in the league and favourable results elsewhere meant they are now just five points off Manchester United who are in second.
Without further ado, here are the five talking points from the game.
#5 You don't play out from the back against Liverpool,
Quite a few teams have learned the way of playing against Liverpool. Swansea, on the other hand, shot themselves in the foot by deciding to play out from the back instead of going direct.
A team still stuck in a conundrum of how to go about their business, things are more uncertain under Leon Britton as he played under Roberto Martinez, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup, advocates of good football. Under the recently sacked Paul Clement, the club sort of changed their system, which would have suited them better against Liverpool.
Though Swansea have a capable player in Roque Mesa -- who can pick a pass -- it's never easy negotiating Liverpool's high press and the Welsh side found that out last night as they gave away the ball far too many times in their own half to go lose by a heavy margin.
#4 Sadio Mane has a task on his hands
There's no other way of putting it; Liverpool's terrific trio of Coutinho, Firmino and Salah arguably give the team more balance than the fab four. The reason? Sadio Mane simply hasn't been himself in the last few months.
After a bright start to the season, Mane has seen a dip in form. His output in the final third hasn't been the same this season. Often, he has looked a bit casual in front of goal and at times, he tries the spectacular. While it has come off at times, against Spartak Moscow, for instance, where he scored a stunning volley, the penchant for the spectacular has hurt Liverpool and his own form this season.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has done well in midfield and his ability to play in the midfield means Coutinho can play in the front three. Oxlade-Chamberlain can also play in a four-man midfield, something that Mane hasn't convinced in, so unless he can improve his output, we could see the former getting more chances.
#3 Swansea are destined to go down
Last season, Swansea looked dead and buried before Paul Clement took over and changed their fortunes. But it wasn't just the gaffer. The Welsh side had good players in Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente and the duo stepped up when the club needed them the most/ This time? Well, the writing seems to be on the wall.
Without proven goalscorers and creative midfielders, Swansea have struggled for goals. Having scored just 11 goals this season, it's hard to see how they'll turn things around in the second half.
The one positive is they still have a transfer window to do something about it. They made profits from player sales last season and need to sign attacking talent if they are to prolong their stay in the English top-flight.
#2 Klopp shows faith in Mignolet
No other player in Merseyside divides opinion in Merseyside like Simon Mignolet (No, no one really rates Dejan Lovren). Often deemed as a good-shot-stopper, the Belgian has games where you doubt if he should have ever decided to keep at all. But then again, he silences his critics and manages to keep his first-team place.
In the last away game against Arsenal, Mignolet was the culprit for Arsenal's equalising goal and many felt that was the final straw. But to everyone's surprise, the Belgian remained in goal.
Loris Karius has done okay in the Champions League, but then again, it takes more than a few bad games for Klopp to drop you. The German's faith in players is perhaps a bit too much.
Mignolet has made high-profile errors in big games -- against Tottenham and Arsenal -- so the gaffer will have to be wary of trusting the Belgian custodian with his rose-tinted glasses.
#1 Time for Joe Gomez to play as a regular centre-back?
No, not because Klavan and Matip have been all that bad. Considering how good Trent Alexander-Arnold has been, it's about time he gets regular games. Gomez is more of a natural centre-back, versatile enough to play as a full-back. But considering Liverpool's style of play, Alexander-Arnold offers more going forward than Gomez.
Gomez's strength is while defending, so why not give him a run out at the heart of the defence? Liverpool have lacked options there and keeping in mind what Klopp said regarding winter signings (scepticism), Gomez is a pretty good option at centre-back.
With an FA Cup tie coming up, it's perhaps the best time to experiment with Gomez. Mind you, Nathaniel Clyne's return is due come early February, so Klopp could have a few options up his sleeve.
