Liverpool loud and clear title favourites as they roar out of the fog to go seven clear at top

That may change by Friday night when Arsenal host lowly Ipswich at the Emirates but, even if Arne Slot’s advantage is “only” six points, that represents a brilliant first half of the season in his new job.

After all, the no-nonsense Dutchman appeared to have been handed one of the most poisoned of chalices when he took over from cult hero Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager this summer. Put simply: how do you follow that?

More that one expert questioned whether the former Feyenoord manager was equipped to lead a squad that fell off badly in last season’s title race under the leadership of the great German.

The answer, we now know five months later, is a resounding yes, with Slot guiding Liverpool towards what would be just the second league title in the past 35 seasons.

And, on a St. Stephen's Day when Chelsea were surprisingly beaten at home, that means that Slot and Liverpool could take delivery of the most welcome of holiday gifts as they continue to chase trophies on four fronts.

Yet there were challenges here, perhaps more than would have been expected pre-match with Liverpool relieved to be going in level at the interval, although the picture should have been more favourable, given their first-half dominance.

They twice hit the Leicester woodwork and set the tone for the first half as early as the fourth minute when Mo Salah forced debutant keeper Jakub Stolarcyk into a good stop at his near post.

The Pole followed that with some sharp handling to deny Curtis Jones’ follow-up effort as the leaders looked to build on their advantage at the top.

But just two minutes later, they were stunned by a devastating Leicester counter attack that resulted in Jordan Ayew shooting the visitors in front. Bilal El Khannouss put Stephy Mavididi away down the left and his cross found Ayew, back to goal and marked tightly by Andrew Robertson.

The Leicester winger turned quickly, shrugged off his marker and sent a perfect low finish into the bottom corner of the home goal.

It was a major shock for a Liverpool team that had not lost a game for 103 days, since Nottingham Forest escaped Anfield with a shock 1-0 win. And the response from Slot’s in-form side was predictably committed and threatening.

In the 25th minute, Robertson’s header, from a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross, struck the post and might have rebounded into the goal off Stolarcyk but flew just wide. Then, in the final minute of normal time, Salah curled a superb shot over the keeper but saw it strike the bar and fly to safety.

The consolation came in the first minute of stoppage time, however, when Alexis Mac Allister picked out Gakpo on the edge of the  Leicester area. The Dutchman had space to take aim and curl an unstoppable shot past Stolarcyk and into the far corner.

It was a deserved, and inevitable, equaliser and one which gave Anfield renewed belief as soon as play re-started, with the Reds going in front just four minutes into the second half.

The goal followed a passage of intricate pass and move football from Liverpool, which seemed to mesmerise the visitors, before Mac Allister crossed from the right and Jones was unmarked to turn the ball in from five yards.

There was a lengthy VAR check, for an offside on as many as three passages of play, before the goal was confirmed and Anfield was finally ready to celebrate.

The goal was a hammer blow to Ruud van Nistelrooy’s hopes of pulling off the first major upset of his English managerial career.

For Slot, meanwhile, every passing week makes his claims that Liverpool are not title favourites ring increasingly hollow. Protest all he might, a record of 22 wins, three draws and that Forest defeat in his 26 league and cup games in charge suggests otherwise.

Anfield certainly sounds in the mood to believe, even if this victory was laboured in parts and there are still one or two question marks in key areas of Slot’s line-up.

Darwin Nunez, for example, remains frustratingly inconsistent in front of goal and he might have put the result beyond Leicester’s reach just after the hour, only to shoot straight at the keeper from Salah’s pass.

Nunez was also the guilty party after 67 minutes when a third Liverpool goal was ruled out, following Gakpo’s powerful finish, as VAR judged his teammate to have been offside in the build-up.

Gakpo turned provider when Liverpool did finally wrap up the three points, eight minutes from time, laying on the pass for Salah to chase into the area before slanting an unstoppable shot past Victor Kristiansen and the diving keeper.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson 6; Alexander-Arnold 7, Gomez 7, van Dijk 7, Robertson 5 (Tsimikas 86); Gravenberch 7 (Endo 86), Mac Allister 8 (Elliott 90); Salah 7, Jones 7 (Szoboszlai 77, 6), Gakpo 9; Nunez 5 (Jota 78, 5). Substitutes (not used) Chiesa, Diaz Kelleher, Quansah.

Leicester (4-2-3-1): Stolarczyk 8; Justin 7, Coady 6, Vestergaard 6, Kristiansen 7; Winks 6 (Skipp 65, 5), Soumare 6; Ayew 7, El Khannouss 6 (Buonanotte 65, 5), Mavididi 7 (De Cordova Reid 87); Daka 5. Substitutes (not used) Alves, Choudhury, Iversen, Okoli, Skipp, Thomas, Edouard.

Referee: D Bond 6