Boss just wild about his Blade stunners
CHRIS WILDER was full of praise for his Sheffield United side after they dished out a footballing lesson to high-flying Bolton.
First-half goals from Mark Duffy and Kieron Freeman with another after the break from John Fleck ended Wanderers’ unbeaten start.
Wilder said: “The attitude was right and that’s what really pleases me.
“It was important that we started right. We did that, we got on the front foot and competed. But we showed some real technical stuff too.”
The Blades side piled on the pressure from the start and were a goal up inside five minutes through Duffy.
Chris Basham ended a flowing move by laying the ball back for the midfielder who produced a fine sidefooted finish into the bottom corner to open his account for the season.
Freeman doubled the lead midway through the first half. The full-back hit a low cross in from the right which Leon Clarke cleverly stepped over and it rolled into the far corner.
Clarke, who made an excellent goal-line clearance to deny David Wheater just before the break, was replaced at half-time by David McGoldrick who drew a brilliant save from Ben Alnwick with his first touch.
Wilder added: “If their keeper wasn’t named as the home man of the match then I don’t know who will get it because he pulled off some really good saves and that unbelievable one.”
The visitors continued to dominate and it was no surprise when Fleck, who turned 27 on Friday, tucked away a deserved third with a smart finish on 73 minutes.
Bolton boss Phil Parkinson said: “We were too slack.
“We started too slowly against a team that was fresh from not having a midweek game.
“We did not do all the little jobs to give us a foothold in the game which allowed them to score and it was pretty much uphill after that.
“For the first 20 minutes we were simply not good enough and the lesson to learn from this is not to go into a game not switched on.”
MO SALAH maintained his perfect Anfield record to take Liverpool to the top of the Premier League.
It is now 29 goals in 29 home appearances for the current Footballer of the Year – and 21 of those have come in 21 league games.
Brighton were looking to build on their shock victory last Sunday against another Premier League big-hitter Manchester United.
But against a Liverpool side who now have Levi’s as their official denim partner, they were always likely to be left feeling blue, despite a spirited performance.
Salah stole the show with his second goal of the season to follow the 44 he notched in the last campaign. Talk about a player who makes the difference! Liverpool were not at their fluent best but boss Jurgen Klopp (below) has a match-winner in Salah who can turn potential draws into three points.
They dominated from the kick-off, even though their keeper – £67million Alisson – had to make the first save from Anthony Knockaert.
The rampant Reds were close to scoring three times in the opening 15 minutes.
Sadio Mane shot just wide before Brighton keeper Mathew Ryan made an outstanding save to keep out Roberto Firmino’s header at the foot of his near post.
Trent Alexander-Arnold hit the top of the bar with a free-kick and it was clear that it was a matter of time before Liverpool took the lead in the 23rd minute. Their pressing game put Brighton under pressure, with first James Milner then Mane winning the ball.
That led to Firmino rolling a pass into the path of Salah.
It was the sort of chance the Egyptian converted throughout last season and the indications are that this one will be no different. Salah placed a left-foot shot across Aussie keeper Ryan and into the net via the far post. The Brighton shot-stopper then had to deny Georginio Wijnaldum and Mane, who met an Andrew Robertson cross with a diving header after Salah had started the move with a superb crossfield pass.
And another delightful build-up by the Merseysiders ended with the industrious Firmino shooting just over.
Liverpool, though, had an escape two minutes into the second half when they failed to get the ball clear.
Knockaert drove wide from a good position and Joe Gomez had a header saved from a Salah delivery then Leon Balogun and Martin Montoya were both booked in the space of a minute for fouls on Milner.
Liverpool made it 23 league matches unbeaten at home and have still to concede this season but they needed an outstanding late save by Alisson to keep out a header from substitute Pascal Gross.
That ensured their seventh straight clean sheet at home, something they had not done since 2007 when Rafa Benitez was manager.
Brighton boss Chris Hughton said: “We were close to coming away with a great result, even though Liverpool were the better team.
“We had a very good chance at the end and it needed their keeper to make a very good save. They had a lot of pressure, but I am very proud of our performance.”