Liverpool v Watford – story of the match

Mohamed Salah scored four in Liverpool’s 5-0 romp.

Mohamed Salah scored four as Liverpool thrashed Watford 5-0 on a freezing evening at Anfield.

The prolific Egyptian also set up the hosts’ other goal for Roberto Firmino as Liverpool climbed back to third in the Premier League.

Watford offered little in a one-sided contest aside from a dipping free-kick from Roberto Pereyra which hit the bar when they were already 3-0 down.

A graphic of Liverpool v Watford — (PA Graphics)

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: “Mo is in a fantastic way, that’s for sure. As it always is in life, if you have to have the skills you have to show that constantly and consistently, and he is very good. He helps us a lot. The boys love playing together with him, he loves playing with them so it’s good.”

Watford manager Javi Gracia: “We know we were playing against one of the best teams in Europe at this moment and they were much better than us. We tried to play like a team, we tried to find the best option but we need to compete with the best level we can and it was not the best performance for us today.”

Tweet of the match

Footballer turned radio pundit Joey Barton offers an indication of how cold it was at Anfield.

Star man – Mohamed Salah

Salah tormented the Hornets (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Moment of the match

Firmino brilliantly flicked in Liverpool's third goal — Firmino brilliantly flicked in Liverpool’s third goal (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Data point

Salah’s quadruple took him to 36 goals for the season in all competitions, a new record for a Liverpool player in their debut season for the club. The previous best was Fernando Torres with 33 in the 2007-08 season.

Ratings

Liverpool: Loris Karis 6 (out of 10), Joe Gomez 6, Virgil van Dijk 6, Joel Matip 6, Andy Robertson 7, Giorginio Wijnaldum 6, Jordan Henderson 6, Emre Can 5, Mohamed Salah 9, Roberto Firmino 7, Sadio Mane 6. Substitutes: James Milner (for Can, 27) 7, Alex Oxlade-Chamerlain (for Wijnaldum, 71) 6, Danny Ings (for Firmino, 79) 6.

Watford: Orestis Karnezis 7, Kiko Femenia 5, Adrian Mariappa 5, Sebastian Prodl 5, Miguel Britos 5, Jose Holebas 5, Abdoulaye Doucoure 5, Etienne Capoue 5, Richarlison 6, Roberto Pereyra 6, Troy Deeney 5. Substitutes: Will Hughes (for Richarlison, 65) 5, Stefano Okaka (for Deeney, 70) 5, Daryl Janmaat (for Britos, 81) 5.

Who’s up next?

Crystal Palace v Liverpool (Premier League, March 31)
Watford v Bournemouth (Premier League, March 31)