Mo Salah shows Ballon d'Or class as Liverpool add to Everton's woes
The Ballon d’Or debate can rage across Europe but on Merseyside and in the wider Premier League, Mo Salah proved again that he is currently the pre-eminent creative goalscorer of the modern era.
The Egyptian scored twice for Jurgen Klopp’s side, including the vital third goal after 64 minutes, that added to Rafa Benitez’s mounting problems and made it 19 goals in 19 games for Salah this season.
Jordan Henderson had claimed Liverpool’s first goal on another successful night for the frighteningly in-form Reds but it was the decisive third that killed off this game and it was a personal disaster for Everton veteran Seamus Coleman.
He badly misjudged a ball on the halfway line and was robbed by Salah who then sprinted half the length of the field, fending off the Irishman and shoving the ball past the Everton keeper.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Robert Lewandowski can squabble all they want about that Ballon d’Or. Salah is simply doing his talking by depositing the ball into the opposition goal every single game.
Diogo Jota wound up the resounding win with a superb turn and finish after 78 minutes, collecting Andy Robertson’s pass, leaving Allan for dead and finishing clinically into the roof of the net. That was the final cue for Everton fans to leave en masse.
But by the time Salah had doubled Liverpool’s lead after just 19 minutes, a number of Everton supporters had seen enough and had already been heading to the exits, such was the gulf between these famous old rivals at that point.
It was not just the fact that the visitors were able to capitalise on their huge advantage in possession and chances, but also the embarrassing ease with which Liverpool scythed through their local rivals for that second.
The visitors broke upfield from their own half but Everton simply failed to respond, gifting Henderson the room to play a slide-rule pass for Salah to chase, with left-back Lucas Digne and the two central defenders badly out of position.
Salah advanced before shaping his body superbly and curling a magnificent finish past the diving Jordan Pickford.
A rout looked certain, and might have been on its way seconds later when Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner struck Michael Keane and flew just wide and Sadio Mane being denied by Pickford as the England keeper launched himself acrobatically into mid-air.
But, for the final 20 minutes of the first half, a curious phenomenon occurred, with Everton finally treating this derby as if it were one, and, somehow, pulling a goal back from their first meaningful attack of the night, seven minutes before the break.
The goal was created by Richarlison’s intelligent through ball which split Liverpool’s central defenders and allowed Demarai Gray the room to take a controlling touch and push the ball through the advancing Alisson.
It was a stunning twist at the end of a first period which could have been long decided.
The opening goal came on nine minutes, and was started on halfway by Henderson who found Mane before Robertson continued the attack and crossed for Henderson to finish the move he started - placing a perfect finish into the net from 18 yards.
Liverpool might already have scored three by the time they found their first. Joel Matip headed wide, unmarked six yards out, from a corner; Salah volleyed over from four yards when a header looked the sounder option and Pickford made an excellent save from the Egyptian at the foot of his post.
The half ended as it had begun, with Mane’s header from a Henderson centre, being well saved by Pickford but, in contrast to the opening exchanges, this was, for now at least, a finely poised derby and Everton looked capable of snatching a result.
How important those optics were, too, for Benitez, given the growing disquiet that has emerged among Evertonians during a run that has seen his side win just once in their last ten games - with the Toffees having now collected two points from the last available 24 in the league.
There has been a debilitating injury list to contend with for the former Liverpool manager and other issues well beyond the Spaniard’s control but it was hard to avoid the thought that, if Liverpool were going to pull off the sort of result they did in the 5-0 win at Manchester United recently, then Benitez could have been rapidly heading towards Ole Gunnar Solskjaer territory.
When Mane opened the second half with a chance that was well blocked by Ben Godfrey, it looked as though Liverpool would be every bit as dominant again.
Yet there was a brief chance for Andros Townsend, from a 20-yard free-kick that was deflected behind for a corner, only for Liverpool to break upfield and Coleman gift them the crucial third goal.
Pickford 5; Coleman 5, Godfrey 6, Keane 5, Digne 5; Townsend 6 (Delph 73, 6), Doucoure 5, Allan 5, Gray 7 (Tosun 84); Richarlison 6, Rondon 5 (Gordon 59, 5).Â
Alisson 7; Alexander-Arnold 7, Matip 6, van Dijk 7, Robertson 8; Henderson 8 (Oxlade-Chamberlain 82), Fabinho 7, Thiago 7 (Milner 75, 6); Salah 9, Jota 8 (Minamino 88), Mane 7.Â
P Tierney 7.
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