Liverpool moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League with an all-too-comfortable win over Newcastle.
Goals from Dejan Lovren, Mohamed Salah, Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabinho earned the Reds the easiest of victories at Anfield and coupled with Manchester City's defeat at Leicester saw them extend their lead.
Here's how they did it:
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Liverpool vs Newcastle from Anfield.
The Reds top the table and will hope to keep up their advantage when they host the Magpies on Boxing Day.
We will have all the latest for you right here so don't touch that dial.
Team news coming at 2pm.
Jurgen Klopp welcomes Rafa Benitez to Anfield in a face-off between the Kop's current and former favourites.
The German is looking to do what Rafa Benitez never could during his time on Merseyside and win the Premier League, though he bristled a little bit at the title talk in his press conference the other day.
"Bull****" was Klopp's verdict, though beating a Newcastle side that is always tough to break down on the road will go a long way to determining how much "bull****" it is.
Jurgen Klopp says title talk at Christmas is ‘bull****’
The IndependentThe Liverpool manager insists that it is far too early to be thinking about decisive moments in the race to be crowned championsThe last four teams to be top at Christmas finished the season as Champions.
The last team that didn't? Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool.
TEAM NEWS
So it's time for the teams. First up, Liverpool, who put out as strong a team as possible as they look to hold off Manchester City.
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Shaqiri, Firmino, Mane, Salah.
Subs: Clyne, Fabinho, Keita, Sturridge, Lallana, Mignolet, Origi.
Newcastle, however, make a raft of changes as they look to frustrate Klopp's side.
Newcastle XI: Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Fernandez, Dummett, Ritchie, Hayden, Diame, Kenedy, Muto, Joselu.
Subs: Schar, Murphy, Rondon, Perez, Manquillo, Longstaff, Woodman.
I've seen Rafa Benitez's side away from home a few times this season and they're one of the best-organised teams in the league - indeed, Roy Hodgson told me they and Crystal Palace were the two best-organised outfits on the top flight - so it won't be easy for Liverpool today.
Klopp's men thrive in the spaces and Benitez's plan will be to ensure those spaces don't exist. It'll be compact and it'll probably be a little ugly. But the Premier League offers no points for style.
Kick-off: We're underway people. Anfield fun incoming
Well Liverpool are zippy from the off, not waiting to get up to speed but slamming their foot on the accelerator and going all-out from the opening exchanges.
They don't create a chance with their first attack but the ease with which Sadio Mane raided into the penalty area should be a concern!
So after a mildly frenetic start we are now a bit more settled at Anfield, Liverpool taking the ball and passing it around in vague hope of an opening while Newcastle form a barcode-inspired wall across the field.
The visitors had their first raid into Liverpool's defensive third down the right flank but the resultant cross barely threatened, with Newcastle's only man within 20 yards of the ball heavily outnumbered.
That isn't going to be the way to win this football match.
Well that is more like it from Newcastle. Ball comes wide left and Matt Ritchie whips over a beautiful cross.
This time the away side have two in the box and the sweeping ball finds Joselu's head - only for the Spaniard to head down into the ground and wide.
If you want to win at Liverpool you need to take those chances.
10 minutes in here and Liverpool's first proper chance falls to Xherdan Shaqiri.
Firmino's flick sets Mané down the line nicely and he pulls it back into the danger zone. Shaqiri is there to sweep it home but the connection is muffed and the ball bobbles. A good position, poor execution.
GOAL LIVERPOOL!
Do my eyes deceive me?
Dejan Lovren has just thundered home a brilliant half-volley after Newcastle do nothing to win the second ball. A set-piece opportunity was headed vaguely clear by Lascelles but there isn't a Newcastle player following it up and it falls nicely to Lovren who decides against taking a touch, hitting it on the half-bounce and the ball rises into the roof of the net.
1-0 Liverpool
As things stand, then, the Reds go six points clear at the top.
Vertigo-inducing stuff for a side who have waited over 25 years for a league title?
Liverpool needed the early goal to avoid the potentially frustrating scenario of Rafa's team just sitting back and now, after some uncharacteristically sloppy set-piece play from a Benitez team, they have it.
The short corner - a much underrated strategy - proving fruitful.
GOALFLASH: Man City have scored, cutting Liverpool's lead at the top of the table.
18 mins: Great chance for Liverpool to double their lead and they look very lively.
This time it's Sadio Mane who races behind the defence but Dubravka does just enough in the Newcastle goal even with the Senegalese sliding in for contact. No foul given, but the ball is cleared regardless.
GOALFLASH: Leicester instantly equalise against Man City - Marc Albrighton set up by Jamie Vardy to level things for the Foxes and Liverpool's lead atop the the Prem is extended.
Oh boy.
21 mins: Shaqiri fires one over from range and this game is now settling into the pattern we might have expect. Newcastle getting very little of the ball.
Newcastle get a little bit of joy from pressing Liverpool in their own territory but they're going to need to score at least once today and it's hard to see where that might come from with so little cohesion in attack.
26 mins: A Salah cross overshoots Firmino but Liverpool's pace on the counter is the main takeaway from what we've just seen. Alisson's distribution has Liverpool up the field in seconds and while a good chance never materialises, this is a team that look dangerous whenever they go forward because they have this uncanny ability to catch teams off-balance.
29 mins: We're back to Liverpool having all the ball and waiting for a second goal. Shaqiri's corner comes to nothing though.
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