- Firmino, Salah goal, assist each
- Mane scores beauty
- Lacazette doesn’t start
- Cech stars in loss
Liverpool is second in the Premier League table heading into the international break after embarrassing rivals Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield on Sunday.
Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, and Daniel Sturridge scored for the Reds, with Firmino and Salah also registering assists.
Arsenal started Alexis Sanchez but it made little difference as the Gunners lost their second in three to fall into 16th.
Mohamed Salah showed some early wizardry that failed to find a receiver, and moments later Emre Can headed wide of the far post in a bright start for the hosts.
Petr Cech made a back post recovery to thwart Salah’s assumed goal. A better shot should’ve been proffered, but that hardly makes the save less outstanding.
Sadio Mane’s electric left wing play earned a penalty shout one minute and a corner kick the next, the latter played short and handled by Arsenal.
That’s when Firmino made it 1-0, using his head to pound a cross off the ground and past a diving Cech.
Jordan Henderson couldn’t convert from an extremely tight angle with a chance to make it 2-0 in the 19th minute.
Salah forced Cech into another save in the 25th minute.
Mane then punished Rob Holding for given him time and space with a simply marvelous curling finish around Cech in the 40th minute.
Arsenal’s first moments of the second half were promising, and Liverpool was more of a countering side when Salah was stopped by Cech before Henderson blazed over the bar.
Salah didn’t miss with his next chance, a 80-plus yard breakaway began by a cleared Arsenal corner. Hector Bellerin made an absolute mess of the ball, and Cech couldn’t low fast enough to swat away the ex-Roma man’s strike.
Wenger inserted Alexandre Lacazette and Olivier Giroud with about a half hour to play.
Sturridge added the fourth in the 78th on another counter attack, an unreal cross from Salah that the English striker barely had to stoop to meet
