Liverpool vs Watford: Post match analysis

With goals from Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool climbed to the top of the Premier League standings with the simplest victory of the season against Watford at Vicarage Road. Jürgen Klopp isn’t a fan of 12:30 p.m. kick-offs in general, but this was almost a training session against newly-appointed Claudio Ranieri’s side, with the hosts being very passive, especially in the first half.

Mohamed Salah was unplayable once again, scoring a goal that was probably better than the one he scored against Manchester City two weeks ago, albeit the level of an opponent must be considered, and Watford was very awful. But don’t underestimate the magical Egyptian. There is no disputing who is the best footballer on the planet. Salah has put an end to the debate in the last month.

While Salah’s world-class talent and assistance were key in the opening goal, Mané finished it off neatly into the corner for his 100th Premier League goal. Early on, Liverpool and Salah made quick work of opening up Watford, but it was Mané who got his name on the scoresheet first. The Senegalese attacker has had a difficult start to the season, but the fact that he has six goals in ten games so far is a tremendously encouraging indication. The more goals he scores, the better his overall performance will become, boosting his confidence even more.

Having played three times during the international break (twice against Sudan and once against Morocco in the space of six days), Liverpool’s decision to invite Keta to play again was a statement of faith in his health. In fact, this was mostly a training session for the midfielder, so it wasn’t the most taxing outing for him, but they couldn’t have realized it would be that simple. Keta walked about the pitch with ease, making little passes, and one of his attempts was deflected onto the crossbar. It was comfortable for him, but it was a test that he had passed in terms of both his performance and his safety.

Aside from a brief period in the first half when he was allowed to dribble forward, Ismaïla Sarr had a rather quiet game in a match when he would have loved to make a positive impact. Liverpool will not be persuaded by a single game, and the conditions made it nearly difficult for him to impress, considering how quiet his teammates were. Sarr, on the other hand, was eerily quiet on the day, unable to demonstrate his actual worth. There’s a reason Liverpool had the winger on their transfer wishlist last summer — and may still do so — but it wasn’t obvious here.

Liverpool were understandably enraged that Alisson Becker and Fabinho were unable to play in this match, with Klopp vs. BT Sport’s Des Kelly nearly resuming pre-match, but it made little difference in the end.That doesn’t change the fact that missing important players due to the international schedule is undesirable as it is for other teams this weekend but few on the day would have noticed the difference.Even an outfielder like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who missed out on a start despite several midfield absences, would have fancied his chances between the sticks, but Kelleher comfortably accomplished everything he required.