Watford 0-5 Liverpool
by Layth Yousif
at Vicarage Road

MO SALAH seized the narrative with a truly stunning goal on Saturday, even as Roberto Firmino hit a hat-trick. 

Never mind Firmino’s haul — if the start of the match was all about Claudio Ranieri, 90 minutes later the talk was impulsively of the impudent Salah following another superb display that once again underlined, for any misguided doubters, that he is a world-class talent. 

Yes, Liverpool spoiled Ranieri’s first game back in English football by thrashing his Watford side with five unanswered goals in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off. And, yes, Jurgen Klopp’s side were superior in every aspect as they eased past their sorry opponents. 

The bare facts are that Firmino’s treble was supplemented by goals from the impressive Sadio Mane and the superb strike by Salah as Liverpool proved far too good for the Hornets on Ranieri’s return. 

Yet, never mind the Italian’s horror show as Watford’s new boss or Firmino’s first treble for the Reds in nearly three years, nor Mane’s 100th Premier League goal: Salah’s strike was the highlight of the match, and for many, of the weekend itself. 

With only 17 per cent possession, no shots, no corners and no goals, the first 45 minutes represented an awful opening gambit for Ranieri and his new charges. 

Liverpool were already 2-0 ahead by the interval following Mane’s cool eighth-minute finish after he was fed by Salah, before Firmino grabbed the first of his trio. Seven minutes after the break, the Brazilian made it 3-0 with his second.

But the highlight of the game, and one of the goals of the season so far, came 120 seconds later in a crowded box. 

What separates the great from the good in tight spaces? Speed of thought, quick feet, a turn of pace, the imagination to do something mere mortals can only dream of? 

How about all of those, spiced with something the Spanish call “illusion”: a moment of magic, an action that will lift you off your feet and warm your heart on a cold day many years from now, with the sepia-tinted memory of the bravura and sheer joie de vivre of what you had witnessed. 

Yes, it was “only” Watford. Yes, the match was practically already won. And yes, the Hornets’ back line was looking ragged.

But when Salah received the ball, he faced four men in front of him on his route to goal: with trickery and fleet of foot he conned two of them, before flooring Craig Cathcart with his mesmerising skill and technique, as surely as a Tyson Fury punch. 

Then, as space opened up, he gloriously angled a curled finish past the despairing dive of veteran yeoman Ben Foster, and into the net. 

As with any goal, there is a momentary split second of utter silence while those watching process what they have just seen, before the percussive noise of the ball hitting the net signals an eruption of joy.

On Saturday I swear that silence was a fraction longer, thanks to Salah’s incredible theatre that stunned every single person in the Vicarage Road crowd of 21,085.

It was because we all took a little longer to register the glory that we had just witnessed as Liverpool went 4-0 ahead. 

No wonder Klopp, noting his other players’ notable achievements, concluded that “you cannot overlook the performance of Mo today. 

“I said it after the game, cut the goal off [and] it was [still] an outstanding performance, how he played today. That’s really good, very important for us, and that’s why we can win football games. Yes, the goal was very special.” 

Everywhere you looked, Klopp’s side possessed genuine quality, from the solidity of Virgil van Dijk to the attacking intent and athleticism of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold along the back line, bolstered by the savvy and puritan work ethic of Jordan Henderson and James Milner in midfield, alongside the sleek purring powerhouse that is Mane, who pleasingly supplemented the creativity of Firmino.

Embarrassed at the scoreline, Watford rallied a tad as the clock ticked down. The bustling 22-year-old Colombian Cucho Hernandez nearly grabbed a consolation, as did former Rennes attacker Ismaila Sarr when hitting a post late on, as the Hornets belatedly attempted to sting their rivals.

But it was too little, too late for a side who showed their storied opponents far too much respect for the first hour, leaving Firmino to grab his well-earned treble with a goal on the whistle to make it 5-0.

The emphatic defeat underlined just how much work there is to be done by Ranieri, but then we knew that already. That’s why he was appointed — Watford becoming his 21st club after they parted company with previous boss Xisco Munoz to make it 16 permanent managers since Brendan Rodgers left the Hornets back in 2009.

Based on this performance, simply keeping Watford in the Premier League would represent a genuine achievement for everybody’s favourite bespectacled magician. 

Yet, Watford battling to avoid relegation is for another time. For Saturday was Salah’s day. 

Asked if he thought Salah was one of the best players in the world, Klopp replied: “Yes he is, for sure, one of the best in the world now. 

“It’s not for me or whatever to say who is the best. For me, he’s the best. I see him every day and that makes it more easy for me, but Mr Lewandowski is out there, Ronaldo still scoring like crazy, Messi still putting out performances on a world-class level, Mbappe and all these kind of things and others will come. 

“But, yes, in this moment he is for sure on top of that list.”

After Salah’s showing, crowned by his goal for the ages, it was hard to disagree with Mr Klopp.