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Diogo Jota scored twice in the first half as Liverpool romped to a comfortable 4-0 victory over Southampton at Anfield on Saturday.
The Portugal forward grabbed his first with less than two minutes played, turning Andy Robertson’s low ball in before adding a second from close range after being set up by Mohamed Salah half an hour later.
Thiago Alcantara fired in a deflected third to give the Reds a commanding half-time lead before Virgil van Dijk steered a corner home to round off the scoring shortly after the restart.
The victory sees Liverpool keep the pressure up on league leaders Chelsea, moving to within a point of the Blues – although the Reds have played an extra game.
Liverpool got off to a flying start as Sadio Mane and Robertson combined on the left before the latter fizzed a low cross into the middle that Jota converted on the stretch.
A couple of chances fell Southampton’s way after that, but Liverpool remained the side on top and doubled their lead in the 32nd minute as Salah squared for Jota to tap in his second after playing a neat one-two with Jordan Henderson on the right.
The Reds made it 3-0 just five minutes later as the ball fell to Thiago on the edge of the box and the midfielder advanced into the area before lashing a left-footed strike into the top-left corner via a hefty deflection off the knee of Lyanco.
Van Dijk extended Liverpool’s advantage even further in the 52nd minute, volleying Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner under Alex McCarthy – who perhaps should have done better – and in.
Jota spurned a glorious chance to grab his hat-trick, diverting Robertson’s cross wide of the target as Jurgen Klopp’s men eased their way to the final whistle.
What does it mean? Reds put pressure on Chelsea
Liverpool’s victory moves them to within one point of Thomas Tuchel’s table-topping Chelsea side, with the Blues set for a heavyweight clash with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Salah races to Premier League goal involvement landmark
Salah has now been directly involved in 150 Premier League goals in his 171 games in the competition (108 goals, 42 assists) – only Alan Shearer (148 games) and Thierry Henry (163 games) reached as many goal involvements in fewer games than the Egypt star in the competition.
Salah has also been directly involved in 25 goals in all competitions this season (17 goals, eight assists), more than double the return of any other Premier League player.
Jota matches Wolves league tally
Jota has now scored 32 career Premier League goals, evenly split between Wolves and Liverpool (16 each).
He has reached the tally for the Reds in 36 fewer appearances, however (67 for Wolves, 31 for Liverpool) and with a better shot conversion rate (12.6 per cent with Wolves, 21.9 per cent with Liverpool).
What’s next?
Liverpool’s next fixture is a Merseyside derby with Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday, while Southampton host Leicester City on the same day.
