London, Dec 30: Mohamed Salah became the first player to register a goal and an assist in eight different Premier League matches in a single season as Liverpool surged eight points clear at the top of the table with a dominant 5-0 victory at West Ham United.

Salah now has 23 assists in all competitions in 2024, the most by any Liverpool player in a single calendar year in the Premier League era.

"If you look at Mo (Salah) and his numbers, you can't argue that (he's the best player in the world) There are a lot of players out there with a lot of quality, but he is up there. He's in a very good place, let's hope he can stay like this for a long time," Liverpool manager Arne Slot said.

Luis Diaz put Liverpool in front before Salah teed up Gakpo to strike and then swept in the third of the evening himself.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deflected effort from distance increased the lead to four and an excellent Salah dribble preceded substitute Diogo Jota wrapped up the scoring.

It was Liverpool's 14th win from their 18 matches so far, and they sit eight points in front of second-placed Nottingham Forest, the only team to beat them so far. West Ham, meanwhile sit in 13th spot.

"The only thing in my mind, to be fair, is I want Liverpool to win the league and I just want to be part of that. That’s the only thing I’ve really focused [on] since the beginning of the season. I will do my best for the team to win trophies. We are in the right direction but of course there are a few other teams really trying to catch up with us and they are very good teams.

"We just need to stay focused and humble, work hard and just go again," Salah, who took his tallies for 2024-25 to 20 goals and 17 assists, told Sky Sports.

(IANS)

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