Liverpool is flying. There’s no denying it. After coming through a tricky period at the start of December when the team dropped points against Newcastle and Fulham, along with a postponed Merseyside derby that allowed Liverpool’s rivals to make up ground on the leaders, the first real questions were asked of the Arne Slot era.

In fact, had Chelsea beaten Everton on 22 December then Enzo Maresca’s side would have temporarily moved top of the table. That was just eight days ago, and yet somehow Liverpool now commands an eight-point lead heading into the new year, with a game in hand.

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Wins for Chelsea and Arsenal over the coming days would cut that gap slightly, but regardless it’s a commanding position.

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Since that Fulham draw, Liverpool has been outstanding, winning four in a row and netting 16 across those matches. The Reds have shown the sort of chaotic, varied and unstoppable offensive patterns that were synonymous with the Jurgen Klopp era, all while retaining more midfield dominance under Slot.

The Dutchman is also pleased that others are chipping in with important goals - at West Ham United, four different attackers scored, while in the 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur there were four different scorers.

But the form of Liverpool’s attackers does ease what was a slight concern just a few weeks ago: the overreliance on Mohamed Salah. A stat circulating on social media at the start of December revealed the Egyptian was responsible for 72 per cent of Liverpool goals (via goals and assists) with even Slot admitting that his side was a little too dependent on Salah to produce game-changing moments. “The best thing that can happen for us is that Mo stays fit and keeps producing these numbers,” he said on 3 December.

But with Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota providing a more consistent output over the past few games, Liverpool is already looking more self-sufficient. In the last five matches, Salah has either scored or assisted half of Liverpool’s 18 goals, significantly less than the 72 per cent that was banded about just a few weeks ago.

“I like to see this because if you only rely on one player when it comes to goals, that is not really helpful, although it is also nice to have one that scored a lot,” opined Slot a fter the West Ham game.

“Then to see that others score goals and threaten the opponents’ goal as well, it is pleasing to see. It is not only the one that scores, I think the lead up to the goal is very positive from my point of view.”

The great thing for Slot is that while Liverpool’s other attackers look sharper, Salah is still continuing at the same blistering pace. He has eight goal involvements over the last three games and shows no signs of slowing down.

That’s a great thing for Liverpool and it’s no wonder that the first whispers of a Ballon d’Or have begun to emerge. That his team-mates are also firing now will only boost those chances.