Liverpool 4-1 Cardiff City: Sadio Mane scores twice as Reds go top

Klopp wants better concentration from Liverpool

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says it is "not too decisive" that the Reds are top of the table after 10 games as victory over Cardiff City ensured their joint-best start to a Premier League season.

Sadio Mane scored twice while Mohamed Salah and substitute Xherdan Shaqiri also found the net at Anfield.

Unbeaten Liverpool's eighth top-flight win sent them three points clear of Manchester City, who do not play until Monday when they face fifth-placed Tottenham at Wembley.

Having also drawn two matches, Liverpool have 26 points - matching their tally from the 2008-09 campaign, when they finished second.

"Not too decisive but 26 points is good," Liverpool boss Klopp told BBC Sport when asked about going top.

The German joked: "In my whole life I wanted to be top for 24 hours."

Cardiff trailed to Salah's sweeping finish before Mane turned a couple of Cardiff defenders and finished past Neil Etheridge.

Virgil van Dijk nodded against a post while Adam Lallana was denied by Sean Morrison's headed clearance off the line as the Reds enjoyed 80% possession.

Cardiff pulled a goal back with their first shot on target 13 minutes from time, Callum Paterson steering past Alisson.

But substitute Shaqiri restored the two-goal cushion with his first goal for the club and Mane clipped past Etheridge to seal the points.

Clinical Reds on top - but for how long?

This was not as straightforward as the result suggests, with Liverpool requiring two late goals to finally see off Cardiff who were 2-1 behind with 10 minutes remaining.

Yet the hosts' quality shone through and they will travel for a huge test at Arsenal next Saturday as leaders unless Pep Guardiola's City beat Spurs.

The positives keep on coming for Klopp.

Mane produced two delicious finishes, while Salah supplied two assists as well as providing the early breakthrough.

Cardiff looked like they would be buried as the Reds dominated possession - yet it remained 1-0 until the 66th minute when Mane doubled the lead with a moment of pure quality.

The one big disappointment for Liverpool was Paterson's goal, which denied them a 10th successive Premier League clean sheet at Anfield.

However, it proved only a blip as Shaqiri and Mane went on to seal the points thanks to two late Salah assists.

Liverpool's players celebrate scoring against Cardiff City — Liverpool have scored 20 goals in 10 Premier League games

Played five, lost five against the top five

With the three teams below them all failing to win, Cardiff remain 17th in the table with five points, one win and seven defeats from their opening 10 games.

It has been a tough start for life back in the top flight for Neil Warnock's side, who have now faced all the top five in the first 11 weeks of the season.

Having given Arsenal a scare in Cardiff, they have lost heavily to Chelsea,Manchester City and now Liverpool, while suffering a narrow defeat by Tottenham at Wembley.

Next up are back-to-back home games against Leicester and Brighton, which perhaps offer them a chance of moving away from danger.

They struggled to recover from conceding early, a poor clearance allowing Liverpool to take the lead - but they did become the first team since West Ham on 24 February to score a league goal against Klopp's men at Anfield.

Liverpool more likely to win Champions League than Premier - Warnock

Cardiff completed 120 passes in this match - just nine more than Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum managed during the game - while the visitors could only muster two shots throughout the 90 minutes.

"I think it is a bit harsh, we were punished for making mistakes," said Bluebirds boss Warnock.

"I said at half time if we could improve we could have given them a good game, especially if we scored the next goal.

"Anfield is an intimidating place. Our fans were fantastic, they know we are up against it. The lads gave everything. It was so quiet when Paterson scored, you had to dream of a comeback."

It is worth remembering how far Cardiff have come in a short space of time.

Two years ago they ended October 21st in the Championship. They have already proved this season they can win at this level - but they need to learn fast and start picking up points.

Man of the match - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Why an Anfield goal by Mane = a Liverpool win

Liverpool have won all 19 of the home matches in which Mane has scored for them.
Paterson's goal for Cardiff was the first Liverpool have conceded for 918 Premier League minutes at home.
Paterson's goal was also one of only two touches the Bluebirds had in Liverpool's box all game.
Since the start of last season, Liverpool forward Salah has been involved in 33 goals in 24 Premier League appearances at Anfield (23 goals, 10 assists).
He has now scored 33 goals in 35 matches at Anfield for the Reds.
Cardiff have lost 14 of their past 17 away Premier League games, including four of five this season.

What's next?

Liverpool are out of the Carabao Cup so have a full week to prepare for next Saturday's intriguing league game at fourth-placed Arsenal (17:30 GMT). Cardiff also have a full week to get ready for Leicester City's visit next Saturday (15:00).

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

Liverpool

Formation 4-2-3-1

13Alisson
66Alexander-Arnold
6Lovren
4van Dijk
18Moreno
3Fabinho
5Wijnaldum
20LallanaSubstituted forShaqiriat 61'minutes
9FirminoSubstituted forMilnerat 71'minutes
10Mané
11Salah

Substitutes

7Milner
12Gomez
15Sturridge
22Mignolet
23Shaqiri
26Robertson
32Matip

Cardiff

Formation 4-4-1-1

1Etheridge
5Ecuele Manga
4Morrison
22Bamba
3Bennett
33Hoilett
21Camarasa
17GunnarssonSubstituted forDamourat 73'minutes
11MurphySubstituted forK Harrisat 74'minutes
14ReidSubstituted forZohoreat 83'minutes
13Paterson

Substitutes

10Zohore
12Smithies
16Connolly
18Cunningham
20Damour
23K Harris
24Madine

Referee:: Stuart Attwell
Attendance:: 53,373

Match Stats

Home TeamLiverpoolAway TeamCardiff

Possession: Home80%; Away20%

Shots: Home19; Away2

Shots on Target: Home7; Away1

Corners: Home8; Away0

Fouls: Home6; Away4

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, Liverpool 4, Cardiff City 1.
90'+4'
Full Time
Second Half ends, Liverpool 4, Cardiff City 1.

90'+4'
Post update
Attempt missed. David Junior Hoilett (Cardiff City) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Víctor Camarasa.
90'+1'
Post update
Attempt missed. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) left footed shot from more than 35 yards misses to the left. Assisted by Georginio Wijnaldum.
88'
Post update
Offside, Cardiff City. Loïc Damour tries a through ball, but David Junior Hoilett is caught offside.
87'
Goal!
Goal! Liverpool 4, Cardiff City 1. Sadio Mané (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Mohamed Salah with a through ball following a fast break.
84'
Goal!
Goal! Liverpool 3, Cardiff City 1. Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Mohamed Salah.
84'
Post update
Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
84'
Post update
Foul by Loïc Damour (Cardiff City).
83'
Substitution
Substitution, Cardiff City. Kenneth Zohore replaces Bobby Reid.
81'
Post update
Attempt saved. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) right footed shot from long range on the right is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Xherdan Shaqiri.
81'
Post update
Foul by Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).
81'
Post update
Joe Bennett (Cardiff City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
79'
Post update
Attempt saved. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Alberto Moreno.
79'
Post update
Attempt blocked. James Milner (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Fabinho.
77'
Goal!
Goal! Liverpool 2, Cardiff City 1. Callum Paterson (Cardiff City) left footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal.
75'
Post update
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Bruno Ecuele Manga.
74'
Substitution
Substitution, Cardiff City. Kadeem Harris replaces Josh Murphy.
73'
Post update
James Milner (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
73'
Post update
Foul by David Junior Hoilett (Cardiff City).

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	10	8	2	0	20	4	16	26
2	Man City	9	7	2	0	26	3	23	23
3	Chelsea	9	6	3	0	20	7	13	21
4	Arsenal	9	7	0	2	22	11	11	21

5	Tottenham	9	7	0	2	16	7	9	21
6	Bournemouth	10	6	2	2	19	12	7	20

7	Watford	10	6	1	3	16	12	4	19

8	Everton	9	4	3	2	15	12	3	15
9	Wolves	10	4	3	3	9	9	0	15
10	Man Utd	9	4	2	3	15	16	-1	14
11	Brighton	10	4	2	4	11	13	-2	14
12	Leicester	10	4	1	5	16	16	0	13
13	West Ham	10	2	2	6	9	15	-6	8
14	Burnley	9	2	2	5	10	17	-7	8
15	Crystal Palace	9	2	1	6	5	11	-6	7
16	Southampton	10	1	4	5	6	14	-8	7
17	Cardiff	10	1	2	7	9	23	-14	5

18	Fulham	10	1	2	7	11	28	-17	5
19	Newcastle	10	0	3	7	6	14	-8	3
20	Huddersfield	10	0	3	7	4	21	-17	3

Team

Pts

-1

-2

-6

-7

-6

-8

-14

-17

-8

-17

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677 comments

Comment posted by Chapper1, at 16:58 27 Oct 2018
LFC Fan

The only thing that matters tonight is that Glenn Hoddle pulls through, today of all days being his birthday.

Class player, great manager ( who remembers the 4-3 Swindon play off win ) and a very eloquent pundit

Godspeed Glenn for a full recovery

If you troll this, you are below contempt
Comment posted by koftinho, at 17:06 27 Oct 2018
If you'd said before the season started that we would have played Chelsea, Tottenham away and Man City in our first 10 games and have 26 points on the board, i'd have ripped your arm off to take that.
Additionally we are top of our ECL group that has PSG and Napoli in.

Really good start and it must be an absolutely awful time for all the haters, whose tears i just love bathing in.
Comment posted by User0595398018, at 16:53 27 Oct 2018
similar match last season with lower club would have been scary after Cardiff pulled one off, but this time Liverpool looked strong and the final result shows that.

Shaqiri is absolutely cherishing every moment playing for Liverpool. Salah getting into his form with 1 goal & 2 assists. Liverpool are great to watch AS USUAL..!!
Comment posted by User0626577909, at 16:59 27 Oct 2018
Good luck to Glen Hoddle - the best player of his generation, puts football matches in perspective
Comment posted by Mike T, at 17:12 27 Oct 2018
Liverpool 12 points clear of Man United after 10 games. Sure is pretty.
Comment posted by Socks, at 16:58 27 Oct 2018
The entertainers are back

Shaqiri is already looking like the bargain of the season just like Salah last season. Boom!

Looks like we have a new fab 4 haha love it
Comment posted by MFH07, at 16:53 27 Oct 2018
Bournemouth and Watford >>>>> Man Utd

Who else agrees??
Comment posted by motti, at 16:53 27 Oct 2018
Yet another outstanding display.
Comment posted by User0949025323, at 16:55 27 Oct 2018
Shaqiri and Salah link up play is fabulous. The attack really sparked into life when Shaqiri came on. Lallana is done.
Comment posted by mustardcustard, at 16:55 27 Oct 2018
Alberto Moreno, really, truly, simply doesn’t know how to defend, it’s astonishing he keep getting game time
Comment posted by Captain Armorica, at 17:06 27 Oct 2018
Fantastic win, Shaq scores his first, back to top of the table.
Get well soon to Glenn Hoddle. Puts all the rubbish people post on here into perspective of what's important.
Comment posted by armchair red, at 17:00 27 Oct 2018
As a Manchester United fan I am so envious :,(
Comment posted by Paul Bogota, at 17:17 27 Oct 2018
I'm a WHUFC fan but I like Klopp and Liverpool are playing really well under him, wouldn't begrudge him the title - if we don't win it!
Comment posted by D1679092449428, at 17:08 27 Oct 2018
Why so many manure fans on this HYS, you'd think they would wait for a game involving their league rivals Brighton match HYS to voice their opinions
Comment posted by Ed Lice, at 16:57 27 Oct 2018
Good to see Shaq get his 1st goal. Many more to follow. YNWA.
Comment posted by A bloke, at 17:01 27 Oct 2018
That is how you finish off a game.. the other team gets high hopes.. so, Liverpool go a pound in 2 world class goals in 2 mins to shut them up and bring them down to earht.. Liverpool 4- Cardiff 1... Liverpool remain unbeaten in the prem and unbeaten at home in 18 months.. Saleh with 5 goals and 3 assists and mane with 6 goals in prem already.. WORLD CLASS LIVERPOOL..
Comment posted by LFCfan128, at 16:55 27 Oct 2018
Job done. Shame no clean sheet. They had one shot on target and it goes in off a flick after van Dijk clipped it. Unlucky. Next match,,,bring it on ! YNWA
Comment posted by Plain aim, at 17:28 27 Oct 2018
Apologies for being off topic.

Worrying news about Glen Hoddle, taken seriously ill. Now in hospital. Hope for better news in the coming hours and days.
Comment posted by Dragon27, at 17:42 27 Oct 2018
Same shite written about my team. Well done Liverpool. A very good side. If we stay up it won’t be when we play the top sides. Results went our way and a long way to go.
Great support again. CCFC. Bluuubirds.
Comment posted by pembo, at 19:57 27 Oct 2018
just read on bbc website, that the boys that were trapped in the Thai cave are coming to watch Manure vs Everton, poor sods, haven't they been through enough? As if being trapped wasn't traumatic enough, they are being subjected to watching that tripe.