Sensational Salah Brace Inspires Liverpool to Comfortable Victory
A sensational show of attacking prowess saw Liverpool cruise to a comfortable 3-0 victory against Southampton in the Premier League, maintaining their unbeaten run at Anfield this season.
A magnificent first-half brace in the space of just nine minutes from Mohamed Salah set Liverpool on course for their sixth league win of the season, with Philippe Coutinho adding the extras in the second period to seal all the three points.
Whilst the Reds proved devastating in attack, Southampton lacked a clear cutting edge going forward and suffered as a result as they failed to register a shot on target. The opening stages of the match were marred by the constant sound of referee Mike Jones' whistle, ensuring an early rhythm for either side proved hard to find.
As the effects of the international break lingered in the air the sluggish start saw Southampton take control of possession, although despite struggling to get going Liverpool looked the more likely up forward.
As Shane Long became an isolated figure up top for the visitors, the Reds looked to utilise their pace in-behind the Saints back-line through Salah, but their early peppering on goal through Gini Wijnaldum and Coutinho were dealt with comfortably by Fraser Forster.
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After an impressive show of organisation from Mauricio Pellegrino's men in the opening half-hour, one lapse in concentration opened the door for Liverpool and they made the visitors pay the ultimate price.
Liverpool's corner had been effectively headed away by Virgil van Dijk, but a naive decision by Dusan Tadic to run the ball out of defence was punished as the Reds nicked the ball away, allowing Salah time and space on the edge of the box to curl the ball beautifully into the far corner in the 32nd minute.
Time in the final third proved hard to come by for Southampton, but they offered Liverpool something to think about moments after opening the scoring when an early cross from SofianeBoufal was hesitantly met by Simon Mignolet in the goal mouth.
The visitors did not have long to pat themselves on the back however, as Liverpool doubled their lead when Salah scored his second of the afternoon in the 41st minute.
A sublime through ball from Coutinho found the out-to-in run of the Egyptian in the six-yard box, whose first time shot nestled safely into the back of the net - ensuring the winger became the Reds' most prolific scorer, following nine goals in 12 league matches.
Ryan Bertrand closed the half with Southampton's first, and only, serious attempt on goal as his free-kick from 25 yards out had Mignolet comfortably beaten, but it curled agonisingly wide of the upright.
Needing to peg back the two-goal deficit, the Saints pushed forward early in the second half and almost caught Liverpool in defensive disarray, as Boufal was free to drive into the penalty area with his shot only to be blocked by Dejan Lovren's timely intervention.
The rise in tempo from Southampton was matched by Liverpool, who went toe-to-toe with the visitors as Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino quickly came to life in the final third as space opened up for Liverpool when the Saints pushed numbers forward.
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It seemed it was only a matter of time before Liverpool added their third of the game, and it duly arrived in the 68th minute, as Firmino's shot ricocheted off Forster and into the path of Coutinho, who was free to run through the middle of the box and drive the ball home.
The game then only followed one trend, as Jurgen Klopp's men took full control of proceedings and continued to pepper Southampton's goal who had all but closed up shop at Anfield.
Liverpool will be buoyed from their fourth consecutive victory across all competitions, but must now turn their attention to Sevilla in the Champions League before returning to Anfield to host Chelsea next weekend.
Whereas Southampton will be in search of their first win in four outings when they face the other half of Merseyside when Everton come to town next Sunday.
