Mohamed Salah continued his fine form with two goals as Liverpool eased past Southampton to secure three Premier League wins in a row for the first time in 2017.
After a competitive start at Anfield, Egypt forward Salah curled high into the net from 18 yards, punishing Dusan Tadic for losing possession near his own area.
The strike gave the home side added swagger and a fine Philippe Coutinho threaded pass picked out an expertly-timed run as Salah prodded the second.
No Premier League player has more goals in all competitions than Salah’s 14 this season and though he was quieter after the break, Coutinho picked up the mantle to stab home when Roberto Firmino’s show was saved.
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In all, Liverpool had 21 shots at goal and mustered a dominant win without ever looking like they were at full throttle.
But they are the only side to find the net three times against Mauricio Pellegrino’s team this season and now sit fifth in the table, a point behind Tottenham in fourth.
Salah edges past Fowler
Southampton, a side perhaps carrying little confidence in their attacking ability given their return of just nine league goals this season, wilted after Salah curled in the opener.
Tadic’s error was telling but the authority Salah exuded in the finish pointed once more to him being a player of the highest quality – and not the one Chelsea allowed to leave permanently for Roma after just 19 appearances.
His second, squeezed past Fraser Forster after a brilliant run on the blind side of his marker to collect Coutinho’s outside-of-the-foot pass, took his haul to nine goals in his first 12 league games.
That tally is better than that of Reds legend Robbie Fowler, who managed eight goals in the same number of matches – a record which had stood as the best start any player had made to their Liverpool career in the Premier League.
The reception Salah got when he was replaced on 80 minutes summed up the depth of feeling the club’s fans already have for him.
