Salah takes Liverpool to second spot, West Brom cut adrift
LONDON: Jurgen Klopp described a near perfect Liverpool performance as a “joy to watch” as Mohamed Salah scored for the sixth straight game in a 4-1 thrashing of West Ham at Anfield on Saturday.
Klopp’s men moved up into second in the Premier League by edging a point ahead of bitter rivals Manchester United, who host fourth-placed Chelsea on Sunday, as Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane were also on target.
“I don’t think as a manager you can expect a game like this, you can hope for it but it’s very rare you get it. We got it. It was a joy to watch,” said Klopp.
“It was intense, it was aggressive, it was angry, it was full of desire. I saw everything I wish to see in a game of football and it’s not often you see that.”
Salah also drew level with Harry Kane on 23 Premier League goals in an outstanding debut season at Liverpool in the battle for the golden boot.
The Egyptian was inches away from opening the scoring inside three minutes when he struck the post, but did have a hand when Can’s bullet header from Salah’s corner broke the deadlock on 29 minutes for Liverpool’s 100th goal of the season in all competitions.
Salah doubled Liverpool’s lead when he steered a shot into the far corner on his favoured left foot after the break from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s through ball.
MORE WEST BROM WOE At the other end of the table, promoted Huddersfield and Brighton moved clear of the bottom three.
West Brom are now seven points adrift of safety at the foot of the table as Huddersfield struck twice in eight minutes at the start of the second period through Rajiv van La Parra and Steve Mounie to win 2-1 at the Hawthorns.