In a weird match that eventually revealed the nature of the contest, Liverpool swatted Cardiff City aside 4-1 at Anfield. This one might well have been won before even it started but there was a, brief, nervy stretch.
While the Reds surrendered their first goal at home since February, which took a little gloss off an impressive win, there were so many things that suggest this side is starting to click. Across the pitch, despite some occasional misfiring and a few minor errors, Liverpool look like they are finding their fluency going forward.
It only took 10 minutes for Mo Salah to find the net and confirm Neil Warnock and Cardiff’s concerns. As the Bluebirds barely played out of their own half for the first 45, often with 11 behind the ball and a six-man defence, Liverpool found it difficult to find a second goal.
It took nearly an hour before Sadio Mané smashed home a ball that had squirted loose in the box. The Reds looked like they might coast to the whistle when some sloppy inattentiveness cost them the clean sheet and their goalless record.
In a series of slip-ups, Cardiff found a finish by chance with their first touch in Liverpool’s box. Ironically, it merely served to energise Liverpool’s attack and within 10 minutes the Reds put the visitors to the sword with two successive goals in the 84th and 87th minute.
Here are four findings from the match.
