Sunday People

SENSOR Reds ease title jitters at a canter

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draw breath in a room so closely ely aligned with Liverpool’s illustriou­s history.

The managers and coaches who gathered there were the Liverpool brains trust who mastermind­ed glory on a regular basis. But it was also a safe haven away from the public glare which these days is way more intense.

A refuge Klopp would surely appreciate in the weeks ahead.

Yesterday Klopp was his usual animated self on the touchline as his side cruised to a victory that was never in doubt.

But this time there was no angst, anguish and confrontat­ion with officials.

Arriving on Merseyside Bournemout­h had lost seven Premier League away games in a row.

Hardly an encouragin­g stat as they faced a Liverpool team wounded by their draw at West Ham.

True to form, Anfield proved another unhappy hunting ground on a day Liverpool proved that when it comes to football alone t hey would be more champions.

There’s been no doubting Liverpool’s capacity to wow fans with spectacula­r attacking play this season.

But just in case rivals thought Klopp’s men had gone off the boil and lost their swagger they reminded the Premier League of the danger they possess.

Klopp’s front three were outstandin­g with Mo Salah at his gliding best, Roberto Firmino playing with intelligen­ce and Sadio Mane scoring for the fourth game in a row.

Scare

t han worthy

Liverpool had an early scare when Ryan Fraser forced Alisson into a flying save and some inside Anfield might have been worried.

But Mane, marginally offside when James Milner delivered a pinpoint cross, ended any jitters with a headed opener after 24 minutes. Liverpool’s second 10 minutes later was beautifull­y beautifu constructe­d and finished as Gini Wijnaldum calmly lobbed the ball over Artur Boruc after a sweet pass from Andy Robertson.

When Salah scored a delightful third moments into the second half after a brilliant release pass by Naby Keita and a cheeky flick by Firmino an avalanche of goals seemed likely.

And if there was one serious criticism from Klopp it would have been the raft of wasted chances that could prove costly in the final analysis if it all comes down to goal difference.

Liverpool could well have wiped out City’s goal-difference advantage but Mane headed wide, Salah hit the bar, Keita shot over and Firmino failed to score when clean through late on.

A minor gripe, maybe.

But after two dodgy results Klopp was just happy to be a winner again.

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