Second-half goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah allowed new Liverpool coach Arne Slot to get off to a 2-0 winning start at newly promoted Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Saturday.
Ipswich, cheered on by new minority shareholder and singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran from the Portman Road stands, went toe-to-toe with Liverpool in the first half but failed to take its chances when they presented themselves.
Slot’s new side improved markedly after the break, taking the lead on the hour mark through Jota before a fine move was finished off by Egyptian forward Salah five minutes later to effectively kill off the Ipswich challenge.
AS IT HAPPENED: Ipswich Town vs Liverpool HIGHLIGHTS
Salah broke a Premier League scoring record in Liverpool’s opening game of the season.
By netting Liverpool’s second against Ipswich, the Egypt star took his tally of goals in the opening round of a Premier League season to nine — more than anyone else.
He previously shared the record with Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer.
Liverpool had a host of chances to make the result even more emphatic, but two goals were enough to navigate Liverpool and Slot past a tricky first game of the campaign.
“Hopefully I keep going like this for the whole season,” Salah told TNT Sports. “I always try to help the team all the time, I’m always happy to score goals or assist.
“It’s quite different for all of us (playing under Slot), we need to adapt. We just need to know his way of playing and enjoy the football. We don’t need to put more pressure on him, we just need to play football and enjoy our games.”
In January, Jurgen Klopp shocked the world when he announced he would step down as Liverpool’s manager at the end of last season, with the German saying his goodbyes to an emotional Anfield on the final day of the campaign.
The man with the formidable task of replacing Klopp, who won a Champions League and ended Liverpool’s 30-year wait for a league title during his time in England, is former Feyenoord boss Slot.
A quiet pre-season, with Liverpool yet to sign a single player during the close-season transfer window while its rivals have been splashing the cash, had some supporters worried ahead of the new campaign.
Their side’s first-half performance in the Suffolk sunshine, where the visitors could not muster a single shot on target, added to those concerns.
Slot’s side clicked into gear after the break, however, carving open its opponent with two fine goals, the first finished off by Jota after a pinpoint Trent Alexander-Arnold pass set Salah free before he squared for the Portuguese.
With Ipswich still regrouping, Salah, in his 350th appearance for the club in all competitions, netted superbly after being played in by Dominik Szoboszlai to seal the victory.
The 32-year-old now has more goals in the opening rounds of Premier League seasons than anyone else, and he looks set to play a major part in another Liverpool title tilt this term.
(with inputs from AP)
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