A resurgent Arsenal visiting Anfield provided another test but Liverpool answered an early question to batter the Gunners 5-1.
Liverpool started well and were pressing Arsenal early, looking to get the upper hand. Yet a poor pass from Dejan Lovren allowed Arsenal to push forward at pace and send a diagonal cross to the back post where Ainsley Maitland-Niles streaked in, catching Andrew Robertson out to tap home.
Yet, surrendering a home goal seemed only to awaken the Reds with even greater resolve.
Within five minutes, Liverpool had equalized and taken the lead. Roberto Firmino single-handedly gashed open the Gunners’ for both goals, one scrappy and one sublime.
After Liverpool took the lead, there was no looking back. They may have been sloppy at times but the Reds were playing with far greater courage and taking greater chances.
By halftime, it was already 3-1 and the Reds were far from finished. Later, two stonewall penalty kicks saw the Reds add more to their total. Again, Mo Salah chipped in with a goal and an assist. After softening a long diagonal pass to Sadio Mané, the Egyptian fired home the first one from the spot, while Firmino finished the hat-trick with the second.
Overall, the second half saw Liverpool exert considerably more control. Apart from capitalizing on early sloppy play, Arsenal got rocked by five unanswered goals. Even before the first half finished, the Gunners looked gassed and completely out of their depth.
Here are four findings from the match.
