As far as starts to the season go, it could not have gone much better for Liverpool. The same could be said of the events of Boxing Day.

The Reds had to wait until 8pm and the last match of the day to take on Leicester City at Anfield. But by that stage they had already watched two of their rivals for the Premier League crown drop precious points.

While most people had already ruled Manchester City out of winning an unprecedented fifth title in a row, their 1-1 draw at home to improving Everton in the early kick-off effectively sealed their fate.

READ MORE: Ibrahima Konate makes Liverpool 'return' as staff left irritated by long Arne Slot talks

READ MORE: Julen Lopetegui admits West Ham 'problems' as five new players set to miss Liverpool

Chelsea, fresh from having to settle for a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park, then had the chance to close the gap on leaders Liverpool to a single point with victory in their derby at home to Fulham.

But despite an early Cole Palmer goal, Enzo Maresca's side were made to pay for missed chances as Fulham fought back to claim an historic 2-1 Stamford Bridge success.

That gave Arne Slot's table-toppers the opportunity to go seven points clear at the summit with a win at home to Leicester.

And, while their struggling opponents took a shock lead, the Reds did exactly that as goals from Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones and the relentless Mohamed Salah sealed a 3-1 success.

Given they also have a game in hand on Chelsea, it now increasingly looks like Liverpool's title to lose. Not that their head coach Slot agrees with that, citing City's remarkable drop off in form, which has seen the defending champions take just five points from a possible 27 to slip 14 points off pole position, as a warning.

But for former Reds striker Michael Owen, the race could be all over bar the shouting, believing it is only Arsenal who have any chance of catching his old club.

“They’re (Liverpool) absolutely loving it aren’t they, you can only imagine that dressing room," said Owen on Premier League Productions. “People will say, they will come out and say, 'We don’t look at other teams, we just concentrate on ourselves', and they’re right to do that and they are concentrating on themselves. They are motoring along really well.

"But everyone around them is falling away at the same time, Chelsea lost, Manchester City dropped points again, and they’re probably out of it now. When I look at the league table I’d be astonished if Liverpool don’t go on to win it now. I think their only danger could be Arsenal.

"I don’t fancy Chelsea, I think they are too young, too inexperienced. (Nottingham) Forest are having a great season but they can’t sustain that. Newcastle are too far behind, even though they are coming into good form at the moment, Bournemouth can’t challenge either.

"For me, it’s Arsenal and Arsenal only in terms of danger to them (Liverpool). But I think they’re only a danger to themselves, the way they are playing, unless they implode themselves. Unless they have a Manchester City moment, it looks like they’re streaking clear."

The Reds are unbeaten in 22 games across all competitions and have now won 22 of the 26 matches Slot has taken charge of after replacing the legendary Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield hotseat.

And former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves, sitting alongside Owen in the Premier League Productions studio, said of Slot: "From the first day he walked through the door, everybody was thinking, 'Wow, this is a massive job, stepping into Jurgen Klopp's shoes'.

"But I remember seeing him stood on the sideline at Old Trafford and he just stood there with no stress at all, super confident, and I've been so impressed. The way he's come in, with the confidence he has, and the way he's managed the group, it's just remarkable."

Liverpool play their final game of 2024 on Sunday when they travel to West Ham United. Victory would see the Reds open up a nine-point lead on Arsenal, who moved up to second last night with a 1-0 win at home to Ipswich Town.