MO MAKES VAN PURR
Saints taunts fall on deaf ears as Salah seals it for Reds
VIRGIL VAN DIJK silenced the taunts of Southampton boo boys on his return but it was Liverpool team-mate Mo Salah who took centre stage.
Van Dijk endured a hate-filled reception as he stepped out at St Mary’s for the first time since his record-breaking £75m move to Anfield last month.
But Salah helped Van Dijk turn a deaf ear by scoring one goal and making another as the Reds coasted to victory.
Salah’s strike took his tally for the season to 28 in all competitions but not before Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino had put Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead.
The signs that Van Dijk’s replacement Wesley Hoedt was in for a shocker were clear straight away when his mistake in the opening exchanges almost led to a Firmino goal.
But it only took six minutes and three passes for Liverpool to take the lead when two of their deadly trio linked up to rip apart Southampton’s haphazard defence. Former Saints man Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s long ball forward was not dealt with by the hapless Hoedt, leaving Salah to square the ball to Firmino who drilled it past goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
Liverpool almost doubled their cushion moments later when Oxlade-Chamberlain fired a shot at goal from outside the box but a deflection took the sting off it. Saints eventually registered their first chance of the match after 18 minutes and should have equalised.
Midfield enforcer Oriol Romeu’s pass found team-mate Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg unmarked in the Liverpool area but he rifled his shot straight at Loris Karius.
The German goalkeeper was called into action twice in quick succession on the half-hour.
Saints’ academy ace James Ward-Prowse’s delivery was met by striker Guido Carrillo but he nodded his effort at Karius.
Ward-Prowse was involved again seconds later when he was picked out by Dusan Tadic at the back post but the 23-year-old’s header was tipped over the bar.
Firmino and Salah proved to be too good for
the home side again in the 42nd minute. Egyptian winger Salah bagged his 22nd league goal of the season when he latched on to the Brazilian striker’s back-heel to slot it past McCarthy.
The destructive 25-year-old almost added Liverpool’s third just after the break as the ball found him just inside the area.
But after taking a touch to set himself up, Salah fired his effort over the top of the bar without troubling the Saints keeper.
Hoedt should have made amends for his costly error in the first half when he met Ward-Prowse’s low free-kick but his shot went just wide of Karius’ goal.
Blood
Liverpool continued to sense blood and their midfielders began queuing up to get their name on to the scoresheet.
Georginio Wijnaldum was the first to try his luck from distance before Juventus target Emre Can sent his shot crashing over the bar from 30 yards.
But as the home side went in search of a goal they left themselves open to the threat of a Liverpool counter-attack.
In the 71st minute, the former Southampton forward Sadio Mane left Cedric on the floor to break clear before finding Firmino who produced an excellent stop from McCarthy.
The goalkeeper’s parry fell at the feet of Salah who looked nailed on to notch his second of the game.
But he rifled his shot into the side-netting.
With the Southampton back four tiring, the Reds continued to run them ragged and Mane nearly scored at his former ground but was beaten by the angle.
Mane’s former Saints team-mate Adam Lallana then had his turn to come close to adding Liverpool’s third in the 85th minute.
Salah was involved again as he linked up with Lallana to leave the winger able to get his effort away but watched on as it drifted inches wide.
The defeat leaves Saints deep in relegation danger and raises fresh question marks over the future of manager Mauricio Pellegrino.