SADIO MANE helped himself to a brace as Liverpool overtook Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table.
The former Southampton man was in clinical form as other goals from Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum saw Watford dominated at Anfield.
Liverpool knew a win would see them leapfrog Chelsea after the Blues cruised to a 5-0 win over Everton on Saturday.
Keep up to date with ALL the Liverpool news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
But not even Jurgen Klopp could have predicted the ferocity of his side’s play against a Hornets team who have impressed under Walter Mazzarri this season.
Mane got Liverpool off to a flyer after 27 minutes before Coutinho doubled their lead three minutes later.
Can then put the Reds three to the good before Firmino fired home early in the second half.
Mane quickly followed up with Liverpool’s fifth before Daryl Janmaat pulled one back for the struggling visitors.
But Wijnaldum added to Watford’s suffering when he made it six on the night in added time.
Related Stories
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
- Liverpool spread the goals around again with five different scorers. It was Georginio Wijnaldum’s first for the club meaning now 25 different players have scored under Klopp since he took over.
- There is an argument as to who is the best team to watch right now. For sheer thrills and spills it has to be Liverpool right now.
- Anfield has once again become a fortress. That is 19 unbeaten now in all competitions, 13 wins.
- There can’t be a better attacking full-back in the league right now than James Milner. He must have two sets of lungs.
- They have now scored 38 goals in 13 games this season, including two league cup matches, that is an average of very nearly three a game.
- The front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Countinho interchange positions to such a degree they must be a nightmare to mark.
- Still, Jurgen Klopp and captain Jordan Henderson are refusing to get carried away. Both emphasised in their programme notes about it being one game at a time.
- It is the first time Liverpool have been top of the Premier League since May 5th 2014 when they drew with Crystal Palace in their penultimate game of that season when they came so close to winning the title.
- They last hit six that season too in a 6-3 win away to Cardiff in the March.
THE BIG PICTURE
Liverpool next five fixtures:
Southampton (A): 19 Nov – Prem
Sunderland (H): 26 Nov – Prem
Leeds (H): 29 Nov – EFL
Bournemouth (A): 4 Dec – Prem
West Ham (H): 11 Dec – Prem
Watford next five fixtures:
Leicester (H): 19 Nov – Prem
Stoke (H): 27 Nov – Prem
West Brom (A): 3 Dec – Prem
Everton (H): 10 Dec – Prem
Man City (A): 14 Dec – Prem
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
Liverpool: Karius 7, Clyne 6, Matip 7, Lucas 7, Milner 8, Lallana 8 (Sturridge 6), Henderson 7, Can 7, Mane 9 (Wijnaldum 6), Firmino 9, Coutinho 9 (Ejaria 6)
Subs not used: Klavan, Moreno, Mignolet, Origi
Goals: Mane 27’ 60’, Coutinho 30’, Can 43’, Firmino 57’ Wijnaldum 91’
Booked: Wijnaldum
Watford: Gomes 6 (Pantilimon 7), Janmaat 6, Kaboul 5, Britos 6, Holebas 6, Amrabat 7, Behrami 5 (Watson 6), Capoue 6, Pereyra 5 (Zuniga 6), Ighalo 5, Deeney 6
Subs not used: Mariappa, Guedioura, Sinclair, Kabasele
Goal: Janmaat 75’
Booked: Britos, Holebas
SOCIAL SAYS
WHAT THEY SAID
Philippe Coutinho: “The manager asks us to move a lot and that’s what we try to do, create space for our team-mates and that’s what we tried to do today. We had a good win and that’s good for us and we’re happy for that.”
Jurgen Klopp: “This is not the team of two or three years ago. This is not the team of 25 years ago. This group is new. The mangers and the players, a few of them were involved three years ago but they were younger and now they’re more experienced. Nobody needs to be afraid about our future. But nobody should hope for guarantees in November for where we end.”
Leave a comment