Sadio Mane scored twice and Mohamed Salah provided two assists as Liverpool took over at the top of the Premier League table by beating Cardiff 4-1 at Anfield.
The Reds, who would concede a league goal at home for the first time since February when Callum Paterson beat Alisson in the 78th minute, secured all three points thanks to Mane’s brace and efforts from playmaker Salah and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Salah grabbed his fourth goal in three games by reacting quickly when several Liverpool efforts were blocked in the 10th minute and, in the second half, Mane raced onto an Alberto Moreno pass to smash the ball into the top corner.
Paterson nudged one in to give Cardiff some faint hope of forcing a draw, but substitute Shaqiri soon opened his Liverpool account by collecting a Salah assist and notching. Mane put the game to bed as Salah once again provided a killer pass.
Elsewhere, Roberto Pereyra scored a fine solo goal to kick-start Watford’s dominant 3-0 home victory over Huddersfield, who sank to the bottom of the table.
The former Juventus winger dribbled past the entire Terriers defence to open the scoring after 10 minutes, not long before Gerard Deulofeu steered a fine finish across Jonas Lossl to double the hosts’ lead.
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— Liverpool FC (@LFC) 27 October 2018
Isaac Success was well-placed to bundle the ball over the line after Watford produced a clever free-kick routine late on.
Callum Wilson heaped more woe on struggling Fulham with a double at Craven Cottage as Bournemouth ran out 3-0 winners.
The Cherries striker converted an early penalty after being brought down by Timothy Fosu-Mensah and, after David Brooks made it 2-0 by shooting through Marcus Bettinelli’s legs in the 72nd minute, Fulham lost Kevin McDonald to a red card.
A fantastic through ball from Ryan Fraser allowed Wilson to beat the goalkeeper at the near post, sealing a convincing win.
Glenn Murray’s 100th goal for Brighton boosted the Seagulls to a third-straight league win as Wolves went down 1-0 on the south coast.
Shane Duffy had fired Nuno Espirito Santo’s ambitious side a warning in the first half when heading against a post but it was veteran forward Murray who settled the match in Brighton’s favour by following up Bruno’s miss, minutes into the second half.
Elsewhere, Southampton and Newcastle’s toothless runs continued with a dire goalless draw between the clubs at St Mary’s.
Saints midfielder Mario Lemina enjoyed the best opportunity, striking a post with a flicked effort in the first half.
