Liverpool gearing up for festive season to remember after departure of stars to AFCON
While Liverpool are set to lose Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to the Africa Cup of Nations early in 2022, the Reds are gearing up for a festive period to remember.
On Saturday they coasted to a 4-0 win over Southampton in the Premier League thanks to goals from Thiago Alcantara, Virgil van Dijk and a brace from Diogo Jota.
The win put Liverpool back to within one point of leaders Chelsea, who face Manchester United in their game in hand on Sunday. Manchester City can also go back above the Reds with a win over West Ham United on the same day.
Regardless of what happens, the mood is positive among the Liverpool faithful going into Wednesday’s Merseyside derby showdown with Everton.
read also:Serie A: Mourinho lauds home support ahead of another sell-out
From the nascent stages of Saturday’s Premier League encounter, it was embarrassingly apparent how significant the gap is between Liverpool and Southampton.
Jota’s early goal set Jurgen Klopp’s side on their way and they raced into a 3-0 lead before half time. After adding a fourth, it seemed as though the team were happy to take it easy with a heavy workload to come.
Freddie Keighley has outlined his five major talking points from the contest and had special praise for two-goal hero Jota.
“Jota has had to share minutes with Firmino since his transfer from Wolverhampton Wanderers last year, but he has been in simply sublime form in recent weeks, a double against Southampton taking his tally to four goals in four games in all competitions,” he said.
“As well as being in the right place in the right time to tap in his two goals, the 24-year-old frequently dropped deep to influence the game as Mane and Salah drove beyond him.”