Speculation about Mohamed Salah's future at Liverpool has re-ignited amid the Reds underwhelming campaign.

Liverpool appear destined for a last-16 Champions League exit after losing the first leg 5-2 at home to Real Madrid, while they are down in seventh in the Premier League.

The Reds are nine points outside the top-four league spots to earn Champions League qualification for next term.

TOP STORY – LIVERPOOL WILLING TO OFFLOAD SALAH

Mohamed Salah is willing to leave Liverpool if they fail to qualify for next season's Champions League while the Reds are open to selling him, claims Fichajes.

Football Insider claims Paris Saint-Germain are keen on the Egyptian, who is contracted with Liverpool until mid-2025, and will bid €80 million (£70.6m) for his services.

Liverpool may be open to offers for Salah given their wealth of forward options as Jurgen Klopp looks to revamp his squad, with their intended pursuit of Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, who is expected to cost more than €110m (£97m).

ROUND-UP

– Inter forward Lautaro Martinez is garnering interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, reports TEAMtalk. The 25-year-old Argentinian is contracted until mid-2026.

– Like Arsenal, Manchester United are weighing up a move for Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga, claims AS. The 20-year-old is believed to be priced around £26m (€30m).

– Fabrizio Romano reports Liverpool's Naby Keita may join Barcelona as a free agent at the end of this season, although he clarified "nothing is serious yet".

– Napoli will rival Liverpool in the race to sign Empoli's 19-year-old attacking midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi, claims Calciomercato.

– RMC Sport reports Paris Saint-Germain will not axe head coach Christophe Galtier before the end of the season, following reports of a move for Thomas Tuchel to replace him.

– Liverpool are considering a swap deal for Milan's Rafael Leao involving Luis Diaz, while PSG are in the race for the Portuguese's signature, according to Calciomercato.

Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema heaped more Champions League pain on Liverpool as Real Madrid produced a storming fightback to secure a stunning 5-2 victory at Anfield.

Darwin Nunez's sublime flick and Mohamed Salah's strike following a Thibaut Courtois howler gave the Reds a two-goal lead only 14 minutes into a dramatic first leg of the round-of-16 tie on Tuesday.

That proved to be a false dawn as the holders stormed back in a rematch of last year's final, Vinicius pulling one back with a classy finish before a bad mistake from Alisson gifted him a second goal in an enthralling first half.

Eder Militao headed Madrid in front early in the second half before Benzema's double gave Carlo Ancelotti's ruthless side a commanding advantage to take back to the Spanish capital for the second leg on March 15.

Nunez produced a moment of magic in the fourth minute to put the hosts in front, meeting Salah's whipped ball with an audacious right-foot flick that flashed past Courtois.

Courtois endured a nightmare 10 minutes later, controlling a back past on his chest before the ball bounced off his knee to present Salah with a simple chance to double Liverpool's lead.

Madrid looked like they did not know what had hit them, but Vinicius halved the deficit in the 21st minute by showing excellent close control in the box before bending a sumptuous right-foot finish into the bottom corner.

The winger was celebrating in front of The Kop again nine minutes before the break after Alisson's terrible attempted pass struck his Brazil team-mate and looped into the net.

Madrid lost David Alaba to injury during a pulsating first half which they would have ended with a lead had Andy Robertson not shown great awareness to deny Rodrygo a tap-in.

Los Blancos were in front two minutes into the second half, though, when an unmarked Militao capitalised on terrible defending to head in the influential Luka Modric's free-kick.

An evening that had started well then took another turn for the worse for Liverpool, with Benzema's shot striking Joe Gomez and giving a wrong-footed Alisson no chance.

Liverpool were opened up again after 67 minutes, Modric and Vinicius combining before Benzema sat Alisson down and demonstrated great composure to finish with his left foot.

In a rematch of the 2022 Champions League final Real Madrid will travel to Anfield on Tuesday on a mission to inflict more pain on Liverpool in the round of 16.

Madrid got their hands on the famous trophy in Paris last May, but while the Reds have struggled in the Premier League this campaign, their European form would suggest they should provide a tough test for a side who have had their number in recent years.

Meanwhile, reigning Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt will look to continue their sparkling European form when runaway Serie A leaders Napoli roll into town.

Napoli have taken on all comers this season, proving to be a force in Europe while they have taken Serie A by storm.

Courtesy of Stats Perform, here are some of the key stats and facts to be aware of ahead of the ties.

Liverpool v Real Madrid

Memories of last season's Champions League final will be fresh in the minds of these two sides as Liverpool try to reverse the recent trend of Madrid dominance.

The Spanish giants lifted the top prize in European club football for a 14th time after defeating Liverpool 1-0, leaving the English side winless in their past six meetings between the clubs.

That is the longest winless streak Liverpool have suffered against any team in their Champions League history, with five losses and one draw dating back to 2009.

However, England has not been a happy hunting ground for Madrid in recent years, with only one victory – against Chelsea in 2022 – from their past seven away fixtures in the country (D2 L4).

Also in the hosts' favour is their terrific European form this season, having rattled off five consecutive wins in the competition since losing their opener against Napoli.

A key for the Reds will be figuring out how to stop Vinicius Junior, who has directly contributed to seven goals – scoring five and producing two assists – in his past eight Champions League fixtures.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah could join Chelsea legend Didier Drogba as Africa's all-time leading scorer in the competition with one more goal, which would be his 44th.

Eintracht Frankfurt v Napoli

Napoli will be dreaming of their first Champions League and Serie A double as they hit the road for their first leg against Frankfurt.

They will face a German side who have excelled in European competition under head coach Oliver Glasner, with only two losses from 19 matches (W10 D7), including a triumph in last season's Europa League final against Rangers.

Frankfurt have won their past four meetings with Italian sides since a loss to Palermo back in 2006, while Napoli have just two wins from their 12 away dates in Germany (D5 L5).

But Napoli have been a different beast this campaign, leading all teams with 20 group stage goals. They are averaging 3.3 goals per game in the competition under Luciano Spalletti.

Breakout star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is at the centre of Napoli's success, joining Dries Mertens (2017-18 season) as the only players in the history of the club to record multiple games with a goal and an assist in the same Champions League campaign. He has the potential to write his own history, as no Napoli player has done it three times.

Meanwhile, Frankfurt have a pair of in-form goalscorers. Daichi Kamada has scored in each of his side's past three Champions League matches this season, while Randal Kolo Muani has found the back of the net in their past two.

Mohamed Salah hopes a 2-0 Merseyside derby win over Everton will be the start of Liverpool's resurgence after a poor start to the year.

The Reds had only secured one point from four Premier League matches in 2023 before seeing off their neighbours at Anfield on Monday.

Salah opened the scoring with his 18th goal of the season after five games without a goal, Darwin Nunez setting him up on the break 13 seconds after James Tarkowski had struck the post at the other end in the first half.

Cody Gakpo doubled Liverpool's lead with his first goal for the club early in the second half and there was no way back for the Toffees, who remain in the relegation zone following a first defeat under new boss Sean Dyche.

Jurgen Klopp was also boosted by the return from injury of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino as second-half substitutes, while Virgil van Dijk was on the bench after recovering from a hamstring problem.

Victory moved the Reds into ninth place and they will only be six points adrift of fourth-placed Newcastle United if they beat Eddie Howe's side on Saturday.

Leading scorer Salah told Sky Sports: "It's a huge win for us. We had a perfect week to train and the players were so excited and we couldn't wait for the game to turn everything around and hopefully it was a start."

He added: "I know that Darwin is really fast so they had a corner and we played a one-two. I knew that he was going to play the ball in the space, so I was running as fast as I could and scored so that's the most important thing."

Salah felt the Reds reaped the rewards for a display in which they showed much more intensity.

He said: "We were a little bit lucky but luck always comes when you work really hard and I'm sure everybody was excited for that game to change everything. Hopefully this is the start.

"[Jordan] Henderson and [James] Milner were speaking and said we have to play our football and we have to enjoy so we managed to play good.

Salah became the 13th player to be involved in 100 Premier League goals at a single stadium, the opener being the 71st time he has struck in the top flight to go with his 29 assists.

The Egypt international achieved that feat in 104 appearances, with only Alan Shearer (74 at Ewood Park) and Thierry Henry (92 at Highbury) doing so in fewer.

Cody Gakpo scored his first goal for Liverpool and Mohamed Salah was on target as Everton were consigned to a 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat at Anfield.

The Reds' hopes of securing a top-four finish had been rocked by a run of four top-flight games without a win, but they got their first Premier League victory of 2023 on Monday.

Salah rounded off a blistering counter-attack 12 seconds after James Tarkowski had struck the post with his 18th goal of the season, having failed to find the back of the net in his previous five matches, late in the first half.

Gakpo got off the mark early in the second half as Liverpool moved up a spot to ninth and kept their neighbours in the relegation zone by consigning boss Sean Dyche to a first defeat, with substitute appearances for the fit-again Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino also providing boosts for Jurgen Klopp.

Netherlands forward Gakpo spurned a good chance to open the scoring when he headed wide from close range early in a frantic start.

Tarkowski came agonisingly close to scoring a second goal in as many games after his winner against Arsenal when he rose to meet Alex Iwobi's corner with a header that struck that post, and Liverpool were in front moments later.

Everton were badly caught out on the break as Darwin Nunez darted forward and picked out Salah, who tucked into an empty net with Jordan Pickford in no man's land nine minutes before the break.

The Toffees were once again caught on the break four minutes into the second half, when Conor Cody failed to deal with Trent Alexander-Arnold's dangerous cross and Gakpo got off the mark with a tap-in.

Nunez was denied by Pickford from tight angle and bent an effort just wide after being set up by Gakpo as Everton continued to be opened up all too easily.

Ellis Simms was withdrawn after being handed a start with Dominic Calvert-Lewin unfit, before Jota and Firmino were given great ovations when they came off the bench, and Tom Davies' glaring miss with a header from close range summed up Everton's day.

Luciano Spalletti says the late Diego Maradona is playing a big part in irrepressible Napoli's quest to end their long wait to win the Serie A title.

Napoli have not won the Scudetto since Maradona inspired them to be crowned champions back in 1990, but there appears to be no stopping them this season.

A 3-0 win over Cremonese on Sunday put the runaway leaders 16 points clear of Inter, who have a game in hand, and the Partenopei also remain in the hunt for Champions League glory.

Napoli have reeled off six Serie A wins in a row since suffering their only loss to Inter.

Head coach Spalletti, who is on course to win a first Serie A title at the age of 64, revealed they are trying to go about their business in the same manner as club legend Maradona, who died at the age of 60 in November 2020.

He said: "We have him there. In the locker room there's that statue of Maradona that many go to touch. I do too when we go out on the pitch because we want to bring him into the quality of our team.

"He was someone who won through his quality, through all those things that fans like. We want to try to resemble him as much as possible and we will always carry him with us for the teachings he has given us."

Spalletti also compared winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists this season, to Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.

He said of the Georgia international: "He is truly someone who has sensitivity in dribbling, in stroking the ball, in making those tricks that are so difficult to defend against.

"Salah is one of those who has this quality in close quarters and in finishing so precisely. That he didn't feel the pressure, it can be seen that he is a calm boy. He will have a great future."

Jurgen Klopp has no doubts about Mohamed Salah's quality and believes the forward can play a key role in Liverpool achieving "something special" this season.

Liverpool will head into Saturday's match at Wolves 10th in the Premier League, 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United in the battle for Champions League places.

The Reds, who are also out of both domestic cups and face Real Madrid in the Champions League, have not had Salah at his brilliant best this season.

Although Salah is Liverpool's joint-top scorer in the league this season, he has netted only seven times in 19 matches. Across his first five campaigns at Anfield, he tallied 118 top-flight goals.

This comes after a close-season in which Salah signed a lucrative new Liverpool contract as team-mate Sadio Mane was allowed to leave.

But Klopp came to the defence of his star man ahead of the Wolves game, telling reporters: "That attitude and these kind of things are not Mo's problem.

"Mo's a world-class athlete, so he's the first in, last out, trains hard. Now he's not scoring, but there's people out there that think, 'why did they give Klopp a contract?', so that's how it is in our world.

"It's completely fine. If we don't deliver in the moments, if there's criticism, it's no problem. 

"You can question character, knowledge, ability, everything. You have the right to do everything, but you cannot score the amount of goals Mo scored if you are not an outstanding, world-class football player."

He added: "There are moments when Mo of course would have scored last year. You think that had something to do with the new contract or whatever?

"That's just not right. Things are like they are and the only way we can stop all these questions and discussions is by performing to our top, top level and that's what we have to do and what we will work on.

"We are really on it, and we are still straight, positive, we want to play in the games and we believe in our chances to reach something special even this year.

"It's not great to be not leader of the pack, but we are in a position where we can improve a lot the situation in the table and we have to start tomorrow and continue from there."

Mohamed Salah is "suffering" after seeing Liverpool's "well-drilled machine" frontline disbanded this season, according to Jurgen Klopp.

Sadio Mane left for Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich prior to this term, while Roberto Firmino has seen his role diminished after the arrival of Darwin Nunez and more recently Cody Gakpo.

Egypt international Salah remains the constant in Klopp's front three, though he has struggled in front of goal this campaign – converting just 11.7 per cent of his chances for seven Premier League goals.

That mark may seem poor for the three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner, whose previous lowest conversion rate for Liverpool was 14.4 per cent when he scored 19 in the 2019-20 campaign.

"Of course he is suffering," said Klopp ahead of Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round clash with in-form Brighton and Hove Albion. "It is specific, offensive play that requires a lot of work and a lot of information."

Salah, Firmino and Mane fired Liverpool to a Champions League crown and the Premier League title, though that front three are now a distant memory at Anfield.

"It was a well-drilled machine the front three, everything was clear what we were doing," the German added.

"You create a feeling about a lot of these things, about where your team-mate is and where to pass the ball without looking."

Gakpo and Nunez are among the new faces tasked with reinventing Liverpool's attacking fortunes but Klopp acknowledged it will take time for his side to adapt.

"Now we have Cody as a really important asset, like a connector, he can play the wing and the centre as well," he added.

"When Darwin is playing there he is obviously more high up, going in behind. We never played with a nine before, even when Sadio played in the position he was dropping in moments.

"It is all good if they would all be in and we could build something, but we haven't been able to do that yet."

Diogo Jota is nearing a return to bolster a Reds attacking line-up in desperate need of some form, yet Klopp believes Liverpool – who are ninth in the league – have greater concerns than a misfiring attack.

"If you had scored hundreds of goals in the past and now you are not scoring then that is the first thing you would think about but that is not our problem at the moment," he said.

"But usually you have a real basis to build on and that is what we don't have. The problem is you need time and nobody wants to invest time.

"I wish everything would be easier again and that already we had qualified for finals at the end of the season. This situation is not perfect but the basis of the last two games is something I like."

Erling Haaland's extraordinary first season for Manchester City has seen him beat last season's Premier League Golden Boot haul after just 19 games in the competition.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker reached 25 league goals for the season with a hat-trick against Wolves on Sunday.

A first-half header was followed by a penalty early in the second half, before Haaland stroked in a third as Wolves' defending unravelled.

Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min shared the Golden Boot last season, as the Liverpool and Tottenham forwards each managed 23 goals.

Yet Haaland has taken the art of goalscoring to a new level this season, emerging as the league's premier predator.

The Norwegian has scored 18 in 11 league games at City's Etihad Stadium, already a club record for home Premier League goals in a single season.

He went past Sergio Aguero's best home season haul of 16 on Sunday, with Haaland showing no signs of slowing down for Pep Guardiola's side.

This was also Haaland's fourth Premier League hat-trick, making him by far the quickest player to hit so many trebles.

Former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was previously the fastest to bring up four hat-tricks, doing so in 65 games.

Half a season is a long time in football.

At the end of the 2021-22 campaign, Liverpool had come within a whisker of becoming the first English team in history to win the EFL Cup, FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League in a single campaign.

Chelsea had reached two domestic finals, losing on penalties to Liverpool on both occasions, and finished third in the Premier League after initially threatening a title charge with their early season form.

As the two prepare to meet at Anfield on Saturday, they do so in very different places from then, sitting ninth and 10th in the league table respectively.

They both managed to win their last games 1-0, but there is a long way to go if they are to get back to where they expect to be, and Stats Perform has taken a look at where it may have gone wrong for the two stumbling giants.

Reds struggling to step up to the challenge

It has been a particularly harsh slide for Liverpool, who for the second time in recent seasons were denied the league title by Manchester City in May despite earning over 90 points, while an inspired performance from Thibaut Courtois stopped them in the Champions League final against Real Madrid.

The inevitable disappointment from those two blows has been suggested as one of the reasons why they have accumulated just 28 points from 18 Premier League games, having already lost three times as many as they did in their entire league campaign last season (6-2), and conceding just one fewer goal in less than half the games (25-26).

A lack of turnover in his previously trusted players has been another factor blamed for what has been a tired looking season from the Reds, and tired performances are understandably a significant problem for a team that thrived by overwhelming the opposition with their energy and high pressing.

Liverpool simply aren't executing as many high turnovers, averaging 9.4 per 90 this season, the fourth-most in the league, down from 11.7 last season when they produced comfortably the most (Man City second with 9.9 per 90).

One of the criticisms Klopp has been willing to make publicly of his team in recent games has been their struggle to win challenges, and he wasn't wrong as Liverpool have the worst record in the Premier League for duel success this season (47.4 per cent).

This could go some way to explaining why the number of big chances against them – defined by Opta as a situation from which a player should reasonably be expected to score – has exploded, having already allowed 54 in just 18 games, one more than the whole of last season, and 13 more than their total from the 2018-19 campaign when the team was entering its peak.

Compounding the problem, their ability to put away their own big chances has also fallen off a cliff, having led the league with a 55.3 per cent conversion rate last season.

Despite only Man City (67) creating more big chances than Liverpool's 60 this season, only Leicester City (25.8 per cent) have a worse conversion rate than their 26.7 per cent, less than half what it was last season.

The sale of Sadio Mane could be a factor given the Senegalese forward scored 14 of his 27 big chances in the league last season (51.8 per cent), while his primary replacement Darwin Nunez has only taken four of his 19 so far (21.1).

Things should settle if Nunez and new arrival Cody Gakpo can get close to their previous numbers. The Uruguayan put away 21 of his 35 in the Primeira Liga for Benfica last season, with his 60 per cent success rate the fourth-highest of players in Europe's top 10 leagues (min. 20 big chances), while Gakpo scored five of his 10 big chances for PSV in the Eredivisie before his move this season.

Blues in limbo after period of change

If the lack of squad replenishment is one of the main issues at Liverpool, it could be argued quite the opposite is true of Chelsea since their ownership change last May.

The £88.5million purchase of Mykhaylo Mudryk took the club's overall spending to £372.7m since then (according to Transfermarkt), with 13 new players coming in.

All that on top of swapping the head coach in September, with Thomas Tuchel replaced by the much-heralded Graham Potter, who had never coached a club of Chelsea's standing before.

While many put this down to same old Chelsea, changing their man in the dugout at the first sign of any trouble, it felt more like a statement of intent from Todd Boehly and co, wanting to put in place a long-term strategy with a progressive coach like Potter at the helm.

Despite a solid enough start, going unbeaten in his first nine games (W6, D3), a 4-1 humbling at former club Brighton and Hove Albion signalled the start of a prolonged wobble that has seen them lose another seven of their 11 games since. 

Potter managed to turn the Seagulls into one of the most attractive and fluent teams in the league, with one particular stand-out metric being their high turnovers.

Between the start of the 2021-22 season and leaving for Chelsea last September, only Liverpool (11.4) and Man City (9.9) averaged more high turnovers per game than Brighton (9.8) in the Premier League.

During the same period, Chelsea averaged 8.2 per game, which has gone up to 8.9 under Potter, showing there is still a way to go before his new team will be fully able to implement his style of football.

There has also been a significant struggle to score goals, having only managed 22 at the halfway point of the league campaign – four fewer than Leeds United and Leicester City – after scoring 76 last season.

It is an interesting situation considering Brighton managed just 42 goals last season, with only Wolves and the three relegated teams scoring fewer, and many pointed to the fact Potter never really had an orthodox and accomplished striker to call on.

However, at Chelsea he has had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who may not be what he once was but still scored 13 goals in 23 games for Barcelona last season. The Gabon international has found the net just three times in 16 outings for the Blues, and once in 10 games in the Premier League.

There is also the revolving door of players in and out of the side due primarily to injuries and Potter trying to ascertain his best team, making 60 changes to his starting XI already since his arrival, 21 more than any other manager in the league in that time.

With the talent and resources available to both Klopp and Potter, it would be safe to assume that this is probably just a bad patch for them and before long, the familiar figures of the Reds and the Blues will be back challenging the top four.

There are certainly issues to iron out for both though, and what better way to start than by adding further misery to the other at Anfield on Saturday?

The Premier League is back, and in many ways, it felt like it never left.

A number of teams picked up where they left off for the World Cup in Monday's action, with leaders Arsenal securing a win against West Ham, though having to come from behind to do so.

Tottenham repeated their party trick of recovering from losing positions, though had to settle for a point at Brentford as Harry Kane kept up his superb Boxing Day record.

Liverpool came back with a hard-fought win at Aston Villa, with teenager Stefan Bajcetic scoring his first goal for the club, while Newcastle United blew away Leicester City in the first half at the King Power Stadium.

Stats Perform takes a closer look at some of the more interesting stats from the day.

Arsenal 3-1 West Ham: Gunners keep up record to fighting back against Hammers

Arsenal went in 1-0 down at Emirates Stadium at half-time after Said Benrahma's penalty, but came from behind thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah. It made it the eighth time they have come from behind to beat West Ham in the Premier League, more than they have against any other opponent.

Hammers boss David Moyes has now lost 15 Premier League away games against Arsenal, equalling Harry Redknapp for the most away defeats against a specific opponent in the competition (15 vs Manchester United).

In the presence of Arsene Wenger for the first time since he left the club, the Gunners won their 10th consecutive Premier League home game, the first time they have managed that since April 2019, while this is the first time they have done so while scoring two or more goals each time since November 2017.

Saka seems to enjoy his Christmas, as he has scored in three consecutive Boxing Day games (also 2020 vs Chelsea and 2021 vs Norwich City), the first Arsenal player to do so since Thierry Henry between 2002 and 2004.

Today was the second time Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard has provided two assists in a single Premier League game, with the other coming on Boxing Day last season against Norwich.

Brentford 2-2 Tottenham: Kane puts penalty woe bee-hind him

Following on from his agonising penalty miss in England's World Cup quarter-final loss to France, Kane kept his composure to plant a header past David Raya as Spurs came from 2-0 down to earn a point on Monday.

Kane has now scored more Premier League goals on Boxing Day than any other player in the competition's history (10), finding the net in all seven of his appearances on December 26, while he has also scored against all 32 teams that he has faced in the Premier League – the best such 100 per cent record of any player.

One thing that will concern boss Antonio Conte is that Spurs have conceded the opening goal in each of their last six Premier League matches; their longest run of conceding first in the competition since April 2014 under Tim Sherwood (also six). They have also conceded two or more goals in six consecutive league games for the first time since May 2003.

Brentford are now winless in their last 14 meetings with Spurs in all competitions (D5 L9), since a 2-0 home win in the second tier in March 1948.

Ivan Toney scored the second for the Bees, making him the first English player to register 30 goal involvements (23 goals, 7 assists) in his first 50 Premier League appearances since Jamie Vardy in 2015 (also 30).

Leicester City 0-3 Newcastle United: Almiron continues to fly

It was a fast start by Eddie Howe's men, going 2-0 up against Leicester inside seven minutes – the earliest they had been 2-0 up in a Premier League game since January 2007 (seventh minute v Aston Villa). In fact, it was the earliest a Premier League team had been 2-0 up on Boxing Day since 2010 (Manchester City v Newcastle, after five mins).

Leicester conceded three goals in the first half of a home league game for the first time since September 2003 against Manchester United.

Miguel Almiron picked up where he left off with a superb strike, and has now scored nine goals in 16 games in the Premier League this season, as many as he had scored in his previous four campaigns in the competition combined (nine in 110 appearances).

Newcastle have won six in a row in the Premier League for the first time since 2012 under Alan Pardew. In fact, the Magpies have won 21 Premier League matches in 2022, their most in a single year since 1995, when they won 23.

Howe is only the third English manager to win more than 20 Premier League matches in a single year (21 in 2022 so far), after Kevin Keegan (24 in 1994 and 23 in 1995 with Newcastle) and Roy Evans (22 in 1996 with Liverpool).

Aston Villa 1-3 Liverpool: Robertson provides historic assist

It has not been the best campaign so far for Liverpool, but despite a World Cup being sandwiched in between, this made it three consecutive Premier League wins for the first time since winning their final three games of last season.

Mohamed Salah both scored and assisted in the win, taking his totals to 125 goals and 50 assists for the club in the Premier League. The Egyptian is only the second player with 50+ goals and 50+ assists for the club in the competition, along with Steven Gerrard (120 goals, 92 assists).

Andrew Robertson provided the ball for Salah's fifth-minute opener, his 54th Premier League assist, making him the all-time leading assister among defenders in Premier League history, one more than Leighton Baines (53), while 10 of his assists have come for Salah, with only Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane providing more for him (12 times each).

Bajcetic came off the bench to seal the win, scoring his first Premier League goal for Liverpool aged 18 years and 65 days, making him their third-youngest Premier League scorer, behind only Michael Owen (17y 143d) and Raheem Sterling (17y 317d). Bajcetic is also the second-youngest Spaniard to score in the competition, behind only Cesc Fabregas in 2004 (17y 113d).

Another youth prospect, Ben Doak, came off the bench for Liverpool to make his Premier League debut aged 17 years and 45 days, becoming the youngest ever Scottish player in the competition's history, overtaking Nigel Quashie in 1995 for Queens Park Rangers (17 years, 163 days).

Liverpool made a winning return to Premier League action as Mohamed Salah starred and Stefan Bajcetic scored his first senior goal in an entertaining 3-1 Boxing Day win at Aston Villa.

Salah handed Liverpool a strong start when he converted Andrew Robertson's delivery from close range – making the left-back the defender with the most Premier League assists in history.

The Egypt star then teed up Virgil van Dijk to steer home a deflected second, though Liverpool came under pressure after Ollie Watkins halved the arrears with just over half an hour remaining.

However, Jurgen Klopp's side made the points safe late on as substitute Bajcetic rounded Robin Olsen to score his first Premier League goal, moving Liverpool within five points of the top four.

Liverpool needed just five minutes to take the lead, with Salah on hand to tap home Robertson's cross after the left-back latched onto a sublime outside-of-the-foot pass from Trent Alexander Arnold.

A lively first half saw both goalkeepers forced into action, though Watkins should have done better when heading at Alisson before Robin Olsen was tested by Darwin Nunez's volley.

After a series of narrow escapes, Villa failed to prevent Liverpool from striking again 37 minutes in, as Van Dijk's left-footed volley struck Ezri Konsa before finding the bottom-right corner.

The offside flag denied Watkins a goal soon after the restart, but there was to be no reprieve for Liverpool when he nodded Douglas Luiz's cross home after 59 minutes.

Liverpool then went close to a third through Nunez, but 18-year-old Bajcetic stepped off the bench to calm any nerves, latching onto a loose ball to round Olsen and lash a left-footed finish home.

What does it mean? Liverpool back in the groove

Liverpool entered the World Cup break seven points adrift of a top-four place after an inconsistent spell, leading Klopp to acknowledge his side will be playing catch-up from here on in.

However, the Reds have now won three consecutive Premier League games for the first time this season, and with over half the campaign remaining, they remain a strong contender to reach the table's upper echelons. 

Salah hits the ground running

Egypt's failure to qualify for the World Cup ensured Salah enjoyed a seven-week break ahead of Liverpool's return to action in the EFL Cup last week, and the winger looked every bit refreshed as he netted his 55th away Premier League goal for the club – a joint-high tally alongside Michael Owen.

Salah's assist then made him just the second Reds player to reach a half century for both goals and assists in the Premier League (125 goals and 50 assists), alongside Steven Gerrard (120 goals, 92 assists).

Van Dijk exploits Villa frailties

Though Villa looked menacing on the break throughout, they struggled to cope with Liverpool's attacking threat – including from set pieces.

Van Dijk lost marker Emiliano Buendia with ease to double Liverpool's lead. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, the Dutchman's tally of 15 Premier League goals is more than any other defender.

What's next?

Liverpool host Leicester City in their final Premier League game of the year on Friday, while Villa's 2022 is over – they are next in action at Tottenham on New Year's Day.

Erling Haaland scored his 24th goal of the season and Kevin De Bruyne delivered a masterclass as Manchester City beat holders Liverpool 3-2 to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

The two heavyweights served up a thriller at the Etihad Stadium in their first game after the World Cup break, and it was the Premier League champions who deservedly came out on top.

Haaland opened the scoring, only for Fabio Carvalho to equalise in the first half of a pulsating tie on Thursday.

Riyad Mahrez restored City's lead right at the start of the season half, but Mohamed Salah soon levelled with his 15th goal of the campaign.

The outstanding De Bruyne then provided a second assist of the game for Nathan Ake, and Jurgen Klopp's men were unable to respond for a third time, suffering a first defeat to City in six matches.

Liverpool had been unable to cope with City's early intensity, and Haaland netted the opener 10 minutes in, getting in front of Joe Gomez to volley De Bruyne's pinpoint cross into the bottom-left corner.

The Reds were level from out of the blue 10 minutes later, Carvalho calmly stroking into the far corner after James Milner picked him out in the penalty area.

Caoimhin Kelleher denied Ilkay Gundogan and Ake after they were brilliantly set up by De Bruyne, before Darwin Nunez twice drilled wide.

Mahrez caught Liverpool out with a great touch from Rodri's pass before firing home just over a minute into the second half, yet City's lead only lasted 79 seconds as Nunez showed great pace to get away down the left and unselfishly laid an equaliser on a plate for Salah.

Liverpool were punished for another defensive lapse just before the hour-mark, though, switching off from a short corner and allowing De Bruyne to whip in an exquisite delivery for Ake to nod in.

Nunez spurned another great chance when he shot wide of the far post after bursting clear, with City this time holding on to advance.

Dejan Lovren believes Croatia showed the world – including former team-mate Mohamed Salah – they were not "lucky" at Russia 2018 by returning to the World Cup quarter-finals on Monday.

Croatia reached the final of the previous tournament, losing 4-2 to France, although they had to go through penalty shoot-outs against Denmark and Russia, then extra time against England.

Lovren and his team-mates advanced to the last eight at Qatar 2022 by defeating Japan, again relying on spot-kicks as Dominik Livakovic made three saves in a 3-1 shoot-out success.

Despite the nature of the victory, the centre-back felt his side had proven a point.

"How? Why? Maybe it is written in the stars that Croatia need to go like this," Lovren said. "We need to suffer. Without suffering, there is no reward.

"We showed to the world we are in the best eight of the world, that 2018 didn't happen just luckily.

"Especially my friend Salah said to me, 'penalties, penalties'. I said, 'okay, let me show you'. It's great that we showed to the world that we are really strong."

Lovren's hopes of advancing though another shoot-out were boosted by Sunday's training session, which had seen a similarly inspired Livakovic display.

"In the training session, we practised the penalties and he saved almost all penalties," Lovren added.

"We said to ourselves, 'wow, we are really bad at shooting'. I said to him, 'just be that'. He showed that today.

"Penalties are a lottery, but to be honest I was a little bit more calm today, because yesterday he really showed his quality in the training when he saved almost all penalties. Fantastic."

Livakovic was not Croatia's only hero, with Ivan Perisic earlier equalising with his record 10th major tournament goal, surpassing the great Davor Suker (nine).

"We had this extra experience from 2018, mixed with a younger generation," Lovren said.

"I'm really proud of my team. We kept calm even when we were 1-0 down. It was a really important goal from Perisic."

Croatia would play the winner of the match between Brazil and South Korea, in which the Selecao were racing into a big first-half lead as Perisic added: "It doesn't matter who, we have to be prepared to play our game. If we fight like today, everything is possible."

Mohamed Salah is rightly jealous of former Liverpool team-mate Dejan Lovren appearing at the World Cup, according to the Croatia defender.

Lovren is set to feature in the finals for Croatia and the centre-back knows he cannot come up against ex-Reds colleague Salah, who failed to qualify with Egypt.

A missed penalty from Salah in a shoot-out against Senegal in March proved costly as the Pharaohs missed out on a place in Qatar.

Asked on Sunday whether Salah would be jealous of him making it to the tournament, Lovren said: "One hundred percent! I would be jealous too.

"He said he would support me but, to be honest, I'm sad he didn't qualify. He was very close. He said he would come... with the Croatian flag!"

Croatia start their campaign against Morocco on Wednesday.

Salah helped Egypt beat Morocco during the Africa Cup of Nations in January, scoring in a 2-1 quarter-final victory, and he might have been able to give some useful pointers for Lovren.

"Did he give me a tip for Morocco? I didn't ask him, maybe it's too late now," Lovren said.

Lovren helped Croatia finish as runners-up at the 2018 World Cup, playing in the final against France, and he is adamant going one better is not out of the question this time.

In fact, Lovren is taking inspiration from how Liverpool rebounded from losing the 2018 Champions League final to Real Madrid, returning to the showpiece match a year later and beating Tottenham to take the trophy.

"We have everything we need, we just need to show it on the field," Lovren said. "I like this combination of seasoned veterans and young lions. A lot of things need to come together, everyone needs to be in their best shape.

"My personal thought, when I came to Qatar, was that I wanted to win the cup. When you have faith in yourself and in the team, anything is possible."

Lovren, now 33, plays for Russian club Zenit.

He is in the twilight of his international career and added: "If we were so close four years ago, why can't we do it again?

"That's what I said after the Champions League final when we lost to Real in 2018, so we became European champions a year later. Everything is possible in football, you just have to believe."