Liverpool return to the top of the Premier League table

Goal:Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45'+1, 83'.

Huddersfield was the opening game of a season-defining 10-day period for Liverpool, which included two Champions League semi-final ties with Barca. Naby Keita made things easy with a goal after just 43 seconds, in the first attack of the Reds. Sadio Mane, one of four Liverpool players in the PFA Team of the Year, doubled the lead midway through the first half, before Mohamed Salah extended his run with a beautiful chip in first-half stoppage time.

In the second half, Mane and Salah each scored a goal to help Liverpool beat Huddersfield 5-0, the team at the bottom of the table and relegated since the end of March. The three full points helped the Reds return to the top with two points more than Man City, but having played one more game.

Jurgen Klopp did not use Roberto Firmino and James Milner in the early match of round 36, instead naming Daniel Sturridge and Keita in the starting lineup. This adjustment was effective in the first minute when Keita moved smartly, received a pass from Salah, then shot low into the far corner to open the score. This was only the Guinean midfielder's second goal for Liverpool in the Premier League this season.

The early goal made it much easier for the Anfield team to play. They controlled the ball 70% of the time, with 21 shots (four more than their opponents). The goals came naturally to the red team. In the 23rd minute, Mane separated two of the visitors' defenders, received a cross from the left wing by Andrew Robertson, then headed the ball hard from the edge of the penalty spot, raising the score to 2-0. This was the Senegalese striker's 19th goal in the Premier League. The former Southampton player continued to compete for the top scorer title with his teammate Salah, Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

In the first minute of injury time, Salah spoke up. In a match where Klopp allowed him to shoot freely, the Egyptian striker fired eight shots at Huddersfield's goal, and on the fourth attempt, he succeeded. The former AS Roma player gently chipped the ball past the opposing goalkeeper, who came out to intercept a pass over the line. After a goal drought of a month and a half, Salah scored regularly again. The goal to make it 3-0 on the evening of April 26 was the striker's fourth in his last six matches.

Huddersfield almost gave up after consecutive goals. In the 66th minute, Mane completed his double with a skillful header into the far corner, after a cross from Jordan Henderson. Liverpool's No. 10 almost had a hat-trick when his powerful header hit the post 10 minutes later. However, two goals in the match were enough for the 27-year-old striker to surpass Aguero in the list of top scorers.

Seven minutes before the end, Salah also scored the second goal when tapping the ball into the net from close range, after a cross from Robertson. The simple goal helped this striker lead the scoring list, just one goal more than teammate Mane. With a total of 41 goals, Mane and Salah account for nearly half of the total 84 goals in the Premier League for the Anfield team.

Line-up

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold (Gomez 88'), Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Wijnaldum (Shaqiri 73'), Keita; Salah, Sturridge (Oxlade-Chamberlain 73'), Mane.

Unused subs: Mignolet, Milner, Origi, Matip.

Huddersfield:Lossl; Smith, Schindler, Kongolo, Durm; Mbenza (Kachunga 87'), Bacuna, Hogg, Stankovic (Pritchard 81'), Grant; Mounie (Lowe 65')

Unused subs: Coleman, Diakhaby, Zanka, Daly.

Thang Nguyen