Liverpool returned to Premier League action with a 2-0 win over Leicester City on Thursday night.
A brace from Diogo Jota secured all three points for the Reds, as they close the gap to leaders Manchester City back to nine points.
Luis Diaz made his league debut with his first start in a Liverpool shirt since his £49million move from Porto.
Mohamed Salah, fresh from his involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations, settled for a place on the bench and featured for the last third of the match.
Plenty of national media outlets were in attendance to watch Liverpool’s victory, here is a selection of what they had to say.
PLAYER RATINGS: Luis Diaz good and Diogo Jota excellent against Leicester
READ MORE: Michael Owen on what BT studio thought of Luis Diaz first Liverpool start
David Maddock, via The Mirror
“The neutrals can breathe easily again for a few more days at least… Liverpool are not giving up their title hopes without a fearsome scrap.
“They maintained an admittedly distant pressure on leaders Manchester City, with an impressive, sometimes dogged, sometimes delightful victory over Leicester that showed they still have a real interest in the fight.
“And in doing so, they may just have unearthed yet another star in the making from the conveyor belt of talent that has fed into Anfield during Jurgen Klopp’s reign, with a pulsating Premier League debut from £37m man Luis Diaz.
“He was unlucky to cap his first full appearance with a goal in front of the Kop, denied only by Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel’s wonderful saves.
“Instead, Liverpool had another huge talent, Diogo Jota, to thank for the victory, with two more goals to take his tally to 17 in a fine season."
Richard Jolly, via The Guardian
“Liverpool may be in distant pursuit of Manchester City but the chase goes on, thanks to a player whose chances of overhauling the leader in the scoring stakes may be equally remote. Mohamed Salah could go to Africa for a month and retain a sizeable advantage in the race for the Golden Boot but as he made his comeback in a cameo, Diogo Jota struck twice to ensure Brendan Rodgers’ return to Anfield was a less happy affair. This was not Leicester’s worst result of the week but the manner of Jota’s goals underlined City’s defensive deficiencies and, but for Kasper Schmeichel’s heroics, it might have been a thrashing.
“Faced with a choice of introducing the new or turning back to the familiar, Jürgen Klopp opted to give Luis Díaz a full debut. The returning Salah was a substitute, perhaps more tired and trusted than tried and trusted after playing extra-time in four matches with Egypt. Klopp nearly got immediate vindication: but for a well-judged intervention from Daniel Amartey, Díaz might have struck in the first minute. The Colombian nevertheless looked at home straight away. A thrillingly direct dribbler who seems to have an extra gear looks a natural Klopp player.
“Rodgers had made swingeing changes to the side embarrassed by Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. Youri Tielemans, the captain on Sunday, was benched, along with Harvey Barnes and Caglar Soyuncu. Rodgers reunited the midfielders Wilfred Ndidi and Amartey at the heart of his defence. Just after Christmas, they became the only centre-back duo to prevent Liverpool from scoring in the Premier League but hopes of a sequel only lasted half an hour.”
*Who enjoyed the best LFC debut?
Ian Ladyman, via the Daily Mail
“For Liverpool now, every Premier League game must be won. It’s as simple as that. It seems a ridiculous thing to say but their great modern rivals Manchester City have ensured that Liverpool’s task really is that arduous. No room for error. No off days or nights.
“So this was another step in the right direction against a dangerous, if inconsistent, opponent. Jurgen Klopp’s team beat Leicester thanks to two Diogo Jota goals, one in each half. Leicester’s best player was their goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and that said everything.
“Liverpool remain nine points behind City with a game in hand which is why this victory was so important. With Mo Salah and Sadio Mane back now from the Africa Cup of Nations – Salah came on as a substitute here and was excellent – Liverpool have come through what could have been a difficult period without them and can now look forward to some fresh impetus. Here some of that came from new signing Luis Diaz who was also impressive down the left side.
“For Leicester, the struggles go on. Brendan Rodgers’ team were not particularly bad here but they were stubborn opponents at best and under the Irishman they have grown used to being a little more than that. The end of game statistics showed that Liverpool had mustered 22 shots on goal, half of which had been on target. Leicester, for their part, troubled Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson just once all night.
“Credit, then, to Klopp’s team. They cannot do more than win and win and win and hope that City slip off their conveyor belt of monotonous excellence between now and when the two teams meet at the Etihad Stadium in April.
“Do we have a title race? As long as Liverpool keeping rolling forwards then yes we do. Just. A nine point deficit becomes six if they win their extra game,.
Henry Winter, via The Times
“Liverpool are not giving up the chase, however challenging it looks. They maintained their dutiful pursuit of Manchester City and certainly do not give the impression that it is a mission impossible. Diogo Jota scored twice at Anfield, Luis Díaz delivered a first start full of promise while Fabinho controlled midfield.
“Liverpool are now nine points behind City with a game in hand and have still to visit the Etihad in April. They dominated Leicester City who fought far harder than they had against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. But they had no answer to the finishing of Jota.
“The Portuguese had the decisive touch of the first half, a clinical poacher’s finish to give Liverpool the lead after 34 minutes as Leicester again operated an open-door policy at defending set-pieces. For all the glee over Jota’s 29th goal in 60 games for Liverpool, much of the local chatter at the break will doubtless have been about Díaz, their £37.5million signing gracing the left flank. He looked at home, taking the pace of the Premier League in his long stride, accepting the physicality too.
“It took only 11 seconds for Díaz to become involved on his first start, taking a raking switch from Trent Alexander-Arnold. Daniel Amartey stepped in to stifle that threat but the Colombian was always a danger, and always on the move in from the left. Roberto Firmino was in the centre, Jota right, Mo Salah on the bench and Sadio Mané in bed after just returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Díaz has a fearlessness that won him instant admirers at Anfield. The 25-year-old shook off James Justin, then took a pass from Joël Matip to accelerate and elude Justin again, and then dribbling past Amartey. And he gets on with the game.
“When Boubakary Soumaré slid in, Díaz didn’t milk the contact; he simply rolled with the challenge and leapt up, making no complaints.”
