Dominik Szoboszlai scored his first goal for Liverpool, while Mohamed Salah bagged his seventh in seven games, as the Reds registered a comfortable 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in a Premier League encounter at Anfield on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp’s men, who have won 10 of their past 12 encounters against Villa, moved up to third place in the rankings with 10 points from four games. Villa currently has six points from four games.
Two days after Liverpool reportedly rejected a £150 million approach from Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia for the Egyptian star Salah, he netted goal number 188 of his Liverpool career in the 55th minute with a toe poke at the back post after Darwin Nez’s headed flick from a corner.
Just after three minutes the game started, young Szoboszlai gave Liverpool the lead with a left-footed half-volley from the edge of the 18-yard box. A few moments later, Darwin Nunez’s firm shot hit the post and bounced into the net from Villa defender Matty Cash, giving Liverpool a 2-0 lead. Liverpool never stopped pressing, aided by an unexpectedly sloppy display by Villa, who are now winless in their previous six league visits to Anfield.
Nunez had two goals, one of which struck the crossbar just before halftime, while Trent Alexander-Arnold gave a master class in midfield before going off with a suspected injury in the second half, receiving an embrace from Klopp on his way.
We did quite okay, quick to 2-0, and came out good and scored a goal in the second half too, Szoboszlai told after clinching the victory. We are really happy that Salah has stayed. We are of course speaking with each other and he wants to be here and be with us. We are really happy and we need people in the team like him, the Hungarian midfielder added.
It is a special moment. If you score your first goal for Liverpool at Anfield it is always special. I am looking forward to getting even more. We knew if we come out and we think the game is over we were going to be in trouble but we wanted to score another one quick and just enjoy it, Szoboszlai concluded.
Later in the day, goals in the stoppage time by Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus earned Arsenal a sensational 3-1 win over Manchester United. Mikel Arteta’s side has 10 points while United is in 11th place with six points after already losing twice.
