Mo points the way to the top
Three wins from three, no goals conceded and Salah scores again as Liverpool show...
MO SALAH made the difference once again at Anfield, as Liverpool went to the top of the Premier League for the first time in nearly two years.
Salah, who scored 44 times in an outstanding debut season following his move f rom Roma, st ruck midway through the first half to maintain his goal-a-game record on his home ground.
It left Jurgen Klopp’s men on top of the pack with maximum points and the last team in the division yet to concede a goal.
And though it is early in the season and Brighton put them under pressure late on, he will be as delighted by the resolute manner in which his side defended as much as the interplay between his fab front-three for the winner.
It is the balance of prospective champions and not a result Pep Guardiola would have wanted after his Manchester City side had dropped points at Wolves.
Klopp kept an unchanged side for the third consecutive Premier League game — the first time this has happened since May 2017 — and after only 10 minutes, the well-oiled machine burst into life, with Andy Robertson overlapping on the left flank and delivering a perfect cross for Roberto Firmino to meet with his head.
The only surprise for The Kop, who expected the net to bulge, was Brighton’s Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan made a fantastic reflex stop with his left hand.
Albion spent £ 50 million in the summer and upset Manchester United last Sunday, so they were not likely to be pushovers. Their manager Chris Hugh ton is renowned for organising teams defensively.
Liverpool’s £ 66m goalkeeper Alisson had a rush of blood to leave his area and make a challenge on Solly March, which he lost. Fortunately for Alisson, the bounce of the ball did not favour March, who lost control of the rebound before he could slot in.
Naby Keita has already become a firm favourite on Merseyside and won a free-kick on the edge of the box with a trademark surge from midfield after 15 minutes.
Liverpool have a number of contenders to take free-kicks. On this occasion, it was Trent Alexander-Arnold who stepped up and his effort beat the flying Ryan but st ruck t he crossbar. The gradual build- up of pressure, however, paid dividends with the opening goal after 23 minutes.
James Milner bit into a midfield tackle to set up the move. Keita passed to Sadio Mane and the Brazilian waited until the right moment to release the ball to Salah unmarked to his right. Last season’s Golden Boot winner did not have to break stride before coolly beating Ryan from 16 yards.
His precise left-foot finish into the bottom corner marked his second goal of the campaign and his 29th goal in 29 games at Anfield overall.
Klopp celebrated with a spectacular fist pump but the breakthrough did not alter the pattern of the match. Liverpool pushed for a second, with Ryan getting down well to deny Georginio Wijnaldum’s shot on the turn. He then held on to Mane’s header from a Robertson cross.
Alisson’s occasional walkabouts kept the game interesting and one attempted clearance from Alexander-Arnold was too close to goal for his comfort.
Liverpool’s Scottish left- back Robertson, meanwhile, already has hero status for his energy and willingness to chase a lost cause and from one tigerish run and tackle, he presented Firmino with a chance that skimmed the bar.
A comedy start to the second half saw play resume with music still blaring out of the Tannoy. Maybe Liverpool’ s defenders lost concentration because, when the tunes stopped, Anthony Knockaert was left on his own on the edge of the box. Klopp will have been mightily relieved the Frenchman did not make good contact with his shot and it flew wide.
Liverpool’s quest for a first championship since 1990 seems a bigger deal every year. Now that Klopp genuinely seems to have a
By Joe Bernstein
team and squad to challenge Manchester City, you can sense a little bit of tension during tight games.
There were groans when the otherwise excellent Milner hit a first defe nd erw he henna Liverpool counter looked oked on. There were roars rs from the stands and d an appeal from Sal ah, when his scooped shot hit Shane Duffy’ s hand.
Referee Chris Ka van aghjudg ed that it would beenn hard for the Brighton on defender to get out the way. Duffy’ s central entral defensive partner Leon Balogun, making his first start, was not so fortunate when he steamed into Milner and received a yellow card.
From the resulting free- kick, Milner fed Salah, whose cross was headed at Ryan by Joe Gomez. Jordan Henderson was soon introduced by Klopp midway through the second half to calm the game down. Hughton chose to bring on Jurgen Locadia, Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Pascal Gross in a bid to salvage a point and there were rallying cries from both Virgil van Dijk and Klopp to ensure Liverpool held e no onto gain three p points. Gross had the best chance of an equaliser with his d deft header from six y yards but that was brilliantly br tipped aro around t he post by Alisso Alisson as Liverpool saw out the vi victory.