Salah scored four goals, Liverpool "breathed fire into the neck" of Man Utd

Scorers: Salah 4, 43, 77 & 85, Firmino 49

Liverpool were third and five points behind Man Utd before round 31. But Mourinho's team's busy FA Cup quarter-final this weekend gave Klopp and his team the chance to close the gap, and they took full advantage of that opportunity, crushing Watford in the round 31 match on March 17.

Mohamed Salah was the star of Liverpool's 5-0 win. He scored twice in the first half and repeated the feat in the second half to take the lead in the Premier League's top scorer race with 28 goals.

In all competitions, the Egyptian striker has scored 36 goals since the start of this season - an impressive achievement never seen before for a Liverpool player in his debut season.

As if to add polish to yesterday's brilliant performance, between the two doubles, Salah also contributed an assist, setting up teammate Roberto Firmino to score.four minutes after the break.

Watford showed little ability to resist or respond at Anfield, thus extending their poor away form under manager Javi Gracia.

Yesterday's match against Liverpool also witnessed Watford's strikers once again failing to score when playing away sinceGracia took office on January 21, replacing his fired predecessor Marco Silva.

Liverpool started smoothly with the opening goal in the fourth minute. Facing three yellow-shirted defenders when entering the 18-yard area, Salah still found a way to handle it, causing Miguel Britos to fall to the ground, then shot low past goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis.

Watford sat deep for the first half hour or so, and that was why Liverpool were unable to extend their lead after the opener. But when they started pushing higher towards the end of the first half, Watford paid the price.

Liverpool doubled their lead shortly after Richardlison headed the ball straight at goalkeeper Loris Karius. Andy Robertson's cross from the left wing was neatly finished by Salah with a close-range shot in the 43rd minute.

Four minutes into the second half, Liverpool scored their third. Salah was still shining with a twist, getting past the Watford defender on the right wing, then accelerating down the touchline, strung the ball in front of the goal for Firmino to backheel impromptu into the distance, before the helpless look of goalkeeper Karnezis.

Former Juventus player Roberto Pereyra hit the crossbar with a free kick a few minutes later. But that was all Watford could muster at Anfield. In the final 15 minutes, the visitors almost gave up and Salah took full advantage of that opportunity to increase his scoring record.

In the 77th minute, the Egyptian striker dribbled the ball back and forth, finding a rare space between five yellow-shirted defenders, then fired a low but dangerous shot into the far bottom corner, beating Karnezis for the third time. 11 minutes later, Salah made a beautiful one-two, leaving Danny Ings one-on-one with Karnezis. The new striker could not beat the Watford goalkeeper with his final touch, but Salah was there in time to make amends for his teammate, receiving the rebound from Karnezis and then scoring the rebound, sealing the score at 5-0.

Line-up:

Liverpool(4-3-3): Karius - Gomez, Van Dijk, Matip, Robertson - Henderson, Can (Milner 27), Wijnaldum (Oxlade-Chamberlain 71) - Salah, Firmino (Ings 79), Mane

Unused subs: Mignolet, Klavan, Moreno, Alexander-Arnold

Yellow card: Gomez

Watford(3-4-3): Karnezis - Mariappa, Holebas, Britos (Janmaat 81) - Femenia, Doucoure, Capoue, Prodl - Pererya, Deeney (Okaka 70), Richarlison (Hughes 65)

Unused subs: Gomes, Cathcart, Carrillo, Gray

Referee: A Taylor

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