Mo Salah stars, midfielder can’t take chance - the heroes and villains from Liverpool’s 3-0 win at Norwich

Liverpool couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2021-22 Premier League season as they eased to a 3-0 victory at Norwich City.

The Reds proved far too strong for the newly-promoted Canaries, with Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah all on target for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

The heroes

- Mohamed Salah: The Egyptian simply loves scoring on the opening day of the campaign. His goal ensured he’s netted in the first game of the season for a fifth successive year. A Premier League record. After notching two assists at Carrow Road, he added his name to the scoresheet with a wonderful curling finish in the 73rd minute.

- Diogo Jota: It was the Portuguese who got the nod to spearhead the attack - with Firmino on the bench - and he didn’t let Liverpool down. While Jota wasn’t involved too much, he applied the crucial finish to break the deadlock in the 26th minute.

- Roberto Firmino: The striker would have felt like he had a point to prove when he replaced Jota in the 61st minute - and made his mark only four minutes later. Firmino helped cut open the Norwich defence before he was spotted wide open in the box by a selfless Salah and applied a calm finish.

The villains

- Tim Krul: The Norwich goalkeeper tried to guess where Jota was going to place his shot for the opening goal but the Dutchman’s pre-empted dive to his left proved his downfall. Jota’s effort would have been straight at Krul had he stayed on his feet.

- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: It was a surprise he was given the nod in midfield ahead of Fabinho. Oxlade-Chamberlain had impressed in pre-season but was largely anonymous and would have been disappointed with his display.

- Teemu Pukki: Harsh? Perhaps. The striker made some clever runs and got into some decent positions in the first half but failed to find the back of the net and was substituted after 77 minutes.

Player ratings

Norwich (4-1-2-3): Krul 5, Aarons 6, Hanley 6, Gibson 6, Giannoulis 5, Lees-Melou 5, Gilmour 5, Rupp 5, Rashica (Idah 77) 6, Pukki 6 (Sargent 77), Cantwell 6.

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson 8, Alexander-Arnold 8, Matip 6, van Dijk 6, Tsimikas 6, Oxlade-Chamberlain 5 (Fabinho 61; 6), Milner 6, Keita 6 (Elliott 83), Salah 9, Jota 7 (Firmino 61; 8), Mane 8.

What’s next for Liverpool

The Reds will be relishing a return to a full-capacity crowd at Anfield when Burnley visit next Saturday (12.30).

The Clarets began their season with a 2-1 home loss to Brighton.