A rampant Mohamed Salah led Liverpool to a convincing 3-0 win over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Egyptian scored twice before Philippe Coutinho added a third to wrap up another three points at Anfield.
Here’s a look at what we learned from the encounter.
SALAH REIGNS SUPREME
Liverpool fans were in mourning when Sadio Mane was hit by injury earlier in the season and stressed over Barcelona’s intense pursuit of Philippe Coutinho in the summer. Yet, it’s Mohamed Salah who has been making headlines week in and week out for the Reds.
Even with Coutinho and Mane firmly back in Liverpool’s setup and starting against Southampton, the Egyptian has stood out, keeping the spotlight for himself. His brace against the Saints means he now has nine goals and two assists in just 11 appearances in the Premier League.
Salah opened the scoring with a sublime curling effort from outside the box before latching onto Coutinho’s throughball to turn in the second. Given wealth of attacking talent at Jurgen Klopp’s disposal, it speaks volumes that the winger has managed to reign supreme among them in his first season at the club.
Mohamed Salah
VAN DIJK ALLURE CHECKED
Liverpool spent most of their summer chasing the elusive Virgil van Dijk and inexplicably opted not to pursue other centre-back alternatives. It seemed the Dutchman was put on a pedestal by Klopp but his performance on Saturday proved that he isn’t without flaw.
Although playing as part of a lacklustre Southampton defence, Van Dijk’s Anfield audition was average at best. While he did have plenty of clearances to make, eight in all, he failed to register a single tackle.
In all fairness, he was among the visitors’ best players and was excellent in the air but was caught out on a few occasions, particularly for the second goal when he was in no man’s land as Salah stole in behind to finish.
Virgil van Dijk
SOUTHAMPTON IN TROUBLE
Southampton were blessed with a rather comfortable fixture list at the start of the season but that’s over now and they haven’t really taken advantage of it anyway.
Claude Puel’s departure to Leicester City means that they are also suspect defensively now in addition to struggling for goals. Only Swansea City, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield have scored fewer goals.
They face Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United over their next nine outings as well and are only four points above the drop zone.
Mauricio Pellegrino