Liverpool continue good start to season

Liverpool equalled their best start to an English Premier League season as they beat lowly Cardiff City 4-1 at home yesterday.

Sadio Mane scored twice while Mo Salah and Xherdan Shaqiri got the other goals, to lift Juergen Klopp’s side three points clear at the top of the table, ahead of Manchester City, who play at Tottenham tomorrow.

The victory took Liverpool to 26 points from 10 games, equalling their tally from 2008-09.

Salah opened the scoring on 10 minutes at Anfield with his seventh goal of the season and Mane doubled their lead midway through the second half.

Calumn Paterson gave Cardiff hope 13 minutes from time but substitute Shaqiri and Mane, with his second, completed an eventually comfortable victory.

Bournemouth moved within a point of fifth-placed Tottenham with a 3-0 win at Fulham, who have now lost four straight Premier League games.

Callum Wilson scored twice, the first from the penalty spot, and David Brooks got the other as Bournemouth poured more pressure on Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic.

‘‘We have enough quality to score but we can’t find a way to find a clean sheet,’’ Jokanovic said. ‘‘The Premier League is tough not just for us but for many clubs. We are making expensive mistakes.

‘‘I am not thinking about my future. I will be ready for the next challenge. I must be brave and keep going and encourage my team.’’

Huddersfield dropped to the bottom of the table after a 3-0 defeat at Watford. ‘‘It was our worst performance defensively for a while,’’ said Huddersfield manager David Wagner.

Brighton manager Chris Hughton was indebted to a goal from Glenn Murray for their 1-0 win over Wolves, even if they didn’t play as well as they had lately.

‘‘We are not playing at our best, nowhere near,’’ Hughton said. ‘‘We have players who are not at their level, we are not good on the ball but we are defending really well.’’

Newcastle picked up a vital point with a 0-0 draw at Southampton, enough to lift them off the bottom of the table.

It is only the second time in Newcastle’s history that they have not won any of their 10 league matches, 120 years after the first.

West Ham moved up a place to

13th after a 1-1 draw at Leicester, who remain 12th.

West Ham took the lead through Fabian Balbuena and survived almost 50 minutes with

10 men after the sending-off of Mark Noble, only for Wilfred Ndidi to snatch a point with a late deflected strike.