English Premier League: Firmino, Salah and Mane star in Liverpool’s 5-0 over Watford

Watford, Oct. 16 (IANS): Roberto Firmino’s hat-trick and stunning goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane led Liverpool to a comprehensive 5-0 match over Watford in the Premier League, here on Saturday.

With this win, Liverpool reclaimed top spot in the Premier League with 18 points, two ahead of Chelsea who can retake the lead if they beat Brentford in Saturday’s late game. Watford are 15th on seven points.

This was Liverpool’s biggest win since the 7-0 hammering of Crystal Palace last December, which was also the last time Firmino, Salah and Mane all scored in a top-flight game.

From the first whistle, Liverpool looked in control as Mane, in a superb move in the eighth minute, found the net with a first-time strike after an outstanding pass from Salah. The goal marked Mane’s sixth of the season and 100th in the Premier League.

Mane then picked out James Milner on an overlapping run and he drove a perfect ball across the goal for Firmino to steer home from close range in the 37th minute to put the Reds 2-0 up at halftime.

Milner then found Firmino inside the area following another flowing team move and he made no mistake with the easiest of finishes from close range to double Liverpool’s lead on 37 minutes, to put the Reds 2-0 up at halftime.

It got worse six minutes after the restart when Firmino scored another tap-in after Foster spilled the ball in the area. Salah then scored a fine fourth with a goal of the season contender, and Firmino tapped in the fifth inside the six-yard box in stoppage time.