12th August, 2018
Mohamed Salah got Liverpool up and running as they comfortably dispatched West Ham 4-0 in their first Premier League fixture of the new season.
The Egyptian tapped in a 19th-minute opener from Andy Robertson’s cross on his return to action for the Reds at Anfield.
BBC reports that new signing Naby Keita, a £50m acquisition from RB Leipzig, impressed in midfield for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
He contributed to Liverpool’s first goal and delivered the kind of driving performance that Steven Gerrard once produced wearing the number eight shirt.
It took the visitors almost half an hour to fashion a chance of note as they struggled to stem the Liverpool attacking tide.
Liverpool’s new goalkeeper Alisson, signed for £66.8m from Roma in the summer, comfortably saved a Fabian Balbuena header, one of only two efforts on target for the Hammers.
As the pressure built, the hosts doubled their advantage when Sadio Mane turned in James Milner’s cut-back after being left unmarked six yards from goal.
The Senegalese forward added his second and Liverpool’s third early in the second period. Mane appeared marginally offside as he collected Roberto Firmino’s pass, but the flag stayed down and he drilled his effort beyond new Hammers goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Substitute Daniel Sturridge rounded off the scoring in the closing stages to ensure Liverpool recorded their 500th victory in the Premier League era.
It also maintained their fine Anfield record against West Ham, who have now won just one of their past 46 top-flight visits.
Liverpool finished fourth last season, 25 points behind Premier League champions Manchester City.
However, the nature of their emphatic Champions League quarter-final victory over Pep Guardiola’s side in April, coupled with a league win over City, suggested they could challenge them this term.
Liverpool’s attacking prowess has not been in question in recent times.
The front three of Salah, Firmino and Mane contributed 91 of the club’s 135 goals last season and they were on song again as Liverpool put four goals past West Ham for the fourth time in a row.
Salah’s instinct to find the right position allowed him an easy first, while Mane’s intelligence brought him off the wing into central positions for both his goals.
Klopp compared his team to “Rocky Balboa” in the build-up to this game but the depth of his substitutes’ bench and this result may soon see them shed that tag.
The German introduced new signing Xherdan Shaqiri, England midfielder Jordan Henderson and goalscorer Sturridge from the bench but still had midfielders Adam Lallana and Fabinho in reserve.