Liverpool maintained their present momentum with a routine win against Bournemouth on Saturday evening, scoring three goals as they surge ever closer to the top-four.
Mohamed Salah was on the score-sheet once more, extending his tally as he chases down the Golden Boot award, while Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané also converted. Maybe Mo can appeal for all three goals to be awarded to him?
Here are the observations from the match.
Mané makes history as Demba Ba’s record is crushed
Giving Liverpool the lead with a less than picturesque goal, Mané broke Demba Ba’s record to become the highest scoring Senegalese player in Premier League history.
Asmir Begovic did well to deny the forward’s initial header from Jordan Henderson’s cross but Mané was on hand to convert from the rebound, ensuring Liverpool retained their present upward trajectory.
Mo Salah hits the big 40
It shouldn’t really come as a surprise that another ninety minutes of football brought yet more achievements for Mohamed Salah at Liverpool.
An instinctively headed goal, reminiscent of Luis Suarez’s header against Norwich, brought the Egyptian’s total to 40 goals for the season – the first player at the club to do so since Ian Rush in 1987.
30 league goals see him as only the eighth player in Premier League history to reach such a tally, underlining just how monumental his first season on Merseyside has been. He joins Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, Kevin Phillips, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robin Van Persie and Luis Suarez among the league’s most prolific scorers.
Doing so in just 32 appearances represents the quickest rate of scoring too, with George Allan the only player to reach such a feat faster with 31 appearances, in 1896.
With Mo showing no signs of stopping, the possibilities for his end-of-season tally are endless.
Just how many will he get?
19-year-old Trent delivers yet again
In a week where Alexander-Arnold triumphed against Leroy Sane in the quarter-final of the Champions League, the 19-year-old again delivered an assured performance at right-back. This was far more about his attacking qualities than his maturity in defence, delivering a low cross into the danger zone for Sadio Mané’s opener.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's game by numbers vs. Bournemouth:
103 touches
100% take-ons completed
69 passes
10 crosses
7 long balls
4 interceptions
4 chances created
3 tackles won
1 assistPhenomenal display (again). 🔴 pic.twitter.com/ATCp44qTmi
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 14, 2018
Then there was his pinpoint ball for Salah’s stunning header. Finding his teammate with ultimate precision, the Englishman continues to impress as the games come thick and fast for Liverpool. His potential really is endless.
Henderson delivers a strong statement
There was no sideways passing on show here. Henderson played like a man possessed, operating on the front foot with some exceptional passes to the front three. But for a mistake or two from Mo Salah (out of character, I know), the Liverpool captain could well have had an assist or two to his name.
Doing the dirty work in the defensive third, Henderson will give Klopp something to think about ahead of the crucial semi-final against AS Roma. Even his strongest critic couldn’t deny the manner of his performance on Saturday evening.
Another game, another three points
The game was very much a ticking the box exercise as Liverpool moved one game closer to confirming their top-four finish and subsequent return to the Champions League next season.
With Chelsea trailing by 10 points, albeit with one game in hand, it’s hard to imagine Klopp’s side capitulating to let such a dominant position slip in the games to come. A semi-final clash with Roma and the club’s current form are providing plenty of reasons to be optimistic – let the form roll on.
