Liverpool Keeps It 100 by Mauling the Magpies

After the international break, Liverpool simply picked up where it left off.

Namely, cutting a swath through the Premiership in the season's early stages.

The Reds looked a bit rusty in the first few minutes, but Sadio Mané rescued them with two first-half goals and Mohamed Salah added one in the second to secure a 3-1 triumph over Newcastle.

As a result, Jürgen Klopp's crew has amassed 15 points in 5 games, clearly sitting in the catbird's seat.

 

The Magpies chose to open with a very clear strategy of exploring counter-attacks, and it actually worked.

Seven minutes into the proceedings, Christian Atsu found Jetro Willems, who cut inside Trent Alexander-Arnold and powered a strike into Adrian's top corner:

 

Liverpool, as is their wont, remained undaunted. They continued to control possession and started to mount threats from long-range shots. 

Dudes grabbed their equalizer on 28 minutes when Andrew Robertson dished to Mané, putting him in perfect position to curl his shot into the top corner:

 

Divock Origi had to be subbed off due to injury in the 37th minute. Roberto Firmino entered and proved to be the game-changer.

In only three minutes, the crafty Brazilian striker slid a helper through to Mané, who got a break from Martin Dubravka's howler to gain a tap-in:

 

The match basically became a game of keep-away after the break.

Incredibly the Reds were credited with 80% of the ball possession.

 

The 'Pool proved that in the 72nd minute. That's when Firmino showed his skills in assisting Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian crashed the box and delivered:

 

The league leaders thus revved up for a difficult pair of away games:

• They're in Napoli on Tue 17 Sep for their UEFA Champions League season debut, and
• At Stamford Bridge next Sun 22 Sep to meet an apparently revived Chelsea.

Looks like they're gonna be up for it.