Liverpool maintained their perfect start to the season as they returned to the top of the Premier League table with a comfortable 3-0 win over Southampton.
An own goal from Wesley Hoedt (10) set them on their way before Joel Matip’s header (21) and Mohamed Salah’s close-range strike (45+3) had the game wrapped up by half-time.
Xherdan Shaqiri was heavily involved on his full debut – it was his shot that led to Hoedt’s own goal and he crashed the free-kick off the bar that allowed Salah to tap in the rebound – before he was replaced at half-time.
The home side were on top from the first whistle and needed less than 10 minutes to take the lead. Sadio Mane found Shaqiri in the left-hand channel, the Swiss cut inside and his shot ricocheted off Shane Long into Hoedt and across the line as Alex McCarthy dived despairingly to try and claw the ball away.
Southampton responded well and Long almost got in after a loose pass from Matip. Van Dijk was alert to it though and snuffed out the danger as quickly as it had arisen.
Liverpool carried a threat throughout and it took a superb last-ditch tackle from Cedric Soares to deny Salah after the Egyptian had played a quick one-two with Roberto Firmino.
Matip rose highest from the resulting corner though, outjumping Jannik Vestergaard at the far post to plant his header beyond McCarthy and into the corner of the net.
The hosts continued to push for a third, while Southampton pushed forward intermittently but lacked any sort of cutting edge. It spoke volumes that their best chance almost resulted in a Liverpool goal; Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scuffed his shot from 12 yards after Ryan Bertrand’s pull back, Liverpool broke with Salah and he was just off target with a back-heeled effort.
The third came on the stroke of half-time as Shaqiri’s 30-yard free-kick came back off the underside of the bar and Salah was quickest to react, prodding the ball home from mere centimetres out.
The second half was a non-event, Van Dijk was substituted 10 minutes after the restart but emerged again at the final whistle, suggesting it may just have been a precaution, while Salah had another strike disallowed for offside but by 70 minutes both teams seemed happy to accept their fate.
Liverpool reclaim top spot from Chelsea, who play West Ham on Super Sunday, while Southampton remain in the bottom half with just one win to their name this season.
Man of the match – Mohamed Salah
urgen Klopp had praised Salah before the game after all the talk of a slow start to the season from last season’s top scorer. Not only was he back on the scoresheet at Anfield, his goalscoring instincts clear for all to see as he reacted quickest as Shaqiri’s free-kick came back off the bar, he was a constant menace. He tormented Vestergaard in the first half as he started in a central role and, having moved back to the right for the second, he was involved in everything as Liverpool pushed for more goals after the break.