Mane and Salah fire Liverpool top, Bournemouth and Watford win
LONDON (Reuters) - Sadio Mane scored twice and Mohamed Salah continued his return to form as Liverpool eased to a 4-1 win against lowly Cardiff City to move top of the Premier League at Anfield .
Mane scored two fine second-half goals while Salah ended any suggestion that he was suffering from a ‘goal drought’ with his fourth strike in three matches to go alongside two assists.
Xherdan Shaqiri was also on target for the hosts while Callum Paterson netted for a struggling Cardiff side who remain 17th with five points from their opening 10 matches.
Liverpool, still unbeaten and winners of eight of their 10 league matches, have 26 points — three clear of champions Manchester City who will reclaim top spot if they beat fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Monday.
“Happy for the result and the performance of the team,” Mane told the BBC. “A little tight in the second half but at the end we controlled the game, tried to push on and scored twice to make it easier.
“I was very happy of course to score but most important is the three points.”
Bournemouth also continued their fine start to the season with Callum Wilson scoring twice and talented youngster David Brooks on target in a 3-0 victory at struggling Fulham.
Eddie Howe’s side, who are sixth with 20 points, are enjoying their fourth season in the top flight.
“We are flourishing and took the three points,” forward Wilson said. “We are getting better at counter-attacking teams as you saw with the second goal. Being clinical is the main thing.”
Watford too maintained their impressive start, comfortably beating visiting bottom side Huddersfield Town 3-0, while Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 and Southampton and Newcastle United finished goalless.
In the late game, Leicester City fought back for a 1-1 draw at home to 10-man West Ham United but that was overshadowed by reports in British media that a helicopter belonging to the Midlands club’s owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha had crashed in the car park on Saturday evening.