Reigning Premier League champions Liverpool continue their fiery run of form and secure the top spot as we head into Christmas. The Reds carved open a helpless Crystal Palace this afternoon and made easy work of hitting them for an astonishing seven goals.

Roberto Firmino impressed for the second game in the row thanks his assist and two goals. Takumi Minamino also shone by opening up the scoring after just three minutes. But the Japanese winger took the place of Mohamed Salah, who was left on the bench for the Selhurst Park fixture having been reported this week as saying he was "disappointed" not to be given the captain's armband in against Midtjylland in the Champions League.

However, his cameo appearance was more than a contribution to Liverpool's win, and suggested that Jurgen Klopp made a mistake benching him in the first place.

Salah on fire

The Egyptian wasted no time before he had Palace begging for mercy. He came on in place of Sadio Mane just before the hour mark and it wasn't long before he got in on the goalscoring action.

Salah assisted Firmino's goal to make it 5-0 to the Reds, before going on to scoring the final two goals of the game for himself. According to Sofascore, he completed 100% of his attempted passes, converted 100% of his shots on goal and created a further big goalscoring opportunity for his team.

His blistering efforts now see him jump ahead of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Son Heung-min with 13 goals and three assists in 13 Premier League games played (via BBC Sport).

Salah's efforts have helped Liverpool cement themselves at the top of the table before they next play, putting extra crucial daylight between them and Spurs.

The Reds' next challenge will be against West Brom on December 27 at Anfield and Salah will be confident knowing that his spellbinding performance in the capital today was enough to make sure Klopp never leaves him on the bench again.

In other news, Liverpool should cash in on Divock Origi amidst Wolves interest...