LIVERPOOL: Liverpool kept up their perfect record in the Premier League with a sixth straight victory on Saturday after beating Southampton 3-0 at Anfield.
Switzerland international Xherdhan Shaqiri marked his first start for the club with a role in two first-half goals.
His deflected cross was turned in by Wesley Hoedt for the opener and a brilliant curling free-kick against the crossbar presented Mohamed Salah with a simple close-range effort for the third.
Either side of those goals, Joel Matip scored his first at Anfield as Southampton were pulled apart by a Liverpool side still nowhere near top gear.
Juergen Klopp’s team are top with 18 points though Chelsea can go level on points if they win at West Ham on Sunday.
Liverpool still have some way to go to match the club’s best start to a campaign, though, as the 1990-91 side won 10 successive competitive matches.
Klopp changed his system to accommodate Shaqiri, switching to 4-2-3-1 with Salah moved to the center and Shaqiri playing behind.
In the 10th minute Shaqiri cut in from the left to race onto Sadio Mane’s perfectly-weighted throughball, hitting a right-footed shot off Shane Long onto Hoedt with scrambling goalkeeper Alex McCarthy unable to keep it out.
Salah was denied by a superbly timed block from Cedric Soares after combining with Roberto Firmino but that led to the second goal as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner was powerfully headed home by Matip, making his first start since March 31.
Salah avoided the worst drought of his short Liverpool career in first-half added time thanks to his anticipation and no shortage of Shaqiri brilliance, netting his 30th goal in his last 31 Anfield appearances.
He was denied a second for offside in the 89th minute after Mario Lamina had cleared James Milner’s shot off the line.
The only downside to the afternoon was the departure of Virgil van Dijk with a bruised rib.
For Southampton it was a third loss in six league matches.
Liverpool sweep past Southampton for sixth straight Premier League win
Liverpool sweep past Southampton for sixth straight Premier League win
Detry, LIV Golf veteran Uihlein share first-round lead in Riyadh
- Detry, the newest full-time member of 4Aces GC, shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 under the lights at Riyadh Golf Club
RIYADH: Thomas Detry admitted feeling “a bit nervous” entering his LIV Golf debut on Wednesday.
So did Elvis Smylie, another of the league’s newcomers, but their opening-round performances under the lights at Riyadh Golf Club showed they are both ready to make some serious noise this season.
Detry, the newest full-time member of 4Aces GC, shot a bogey-free seven-under 65 to grab a share of the ROSHN Group LIV Golf Riyadh lead with LIV Golf veteran Peter Uihlein of RangeGoats GC.
Smylie, the 23-year-old rising star who joined the all-Australian Ripper GC, carded a 66 that left him in solo third. The two were among 10 players — eight full-timers and two reserves — playing their first-ever LIV Golf rounds.
Byeong Hun An, the new captain of Korean Golf Club, also sparkled in his debut, shooting 67 to join a group of six players tied for fourth. HyFlyers GC’s Michael La Sasso shot 69 in his pro debut as the league’s youngest player at age 21.
Torque GC grabbed the team lead at 15 under, with the all-South African Southern Guards GC two shots behind. Defending Riyadh champions and reigning LIV Golf Team Champions Legion XIII are in solo third at 11 under.
Detry and Smylie each hit 10 fairways, tying for best in the field, while Detry also was tied for the lead in greens in regulation, hitting 17 of 18. He prepared for playing at night by practicing under the lights with his coach in Abu Dhabi.
“First day on the job, so a little bit of a change for me, so a bit nervous,” said the Belgian, whose most recent win was in February last year on the PGA Tour. “I drove it so well out there, it made my job pretty easy.”
Smylie suffered a bogey on his second hole before finding his rhythm. Five of his seven birdies came on par fours, tying new Smash GC Captain Talor Gooch for most by any other player on Wednesday.
“I think there were a little bit of nerves and excitement, but I think I showed what I’m capable of today, or tonight, I should say,” Smylie said.
While Detry and Smylie were making their first LIV Golf starts, Uihlein was embarking on start number 51 as one of eight original players who have started every tournament since LIV Golf debuted in London in 2022.
He remains in search of his first LIV Golf win, although he won two International Series events on the Asian Tour in 2024. Those were each 72-hole tournaments, and Uihlein hopes LIV Golf’s format switch from 54 holes to 72 starting this season will prove beneficial to him.
“I’m not scared of a blowup every now and then on a hole in particular, so now I have more holes to make it up,” Uihlein said. “I think it’s going to benefit me long-term, which is nice.”
Gooch is among the group lurking at five under. He has won four individual titles and the 2023 season-long Individual Championship, all in the previous 54-hole format. He and the other veteran LIV Golf players have had to adjust their mindset.
“Definitely has a totally different vibe,” Gooch said.
“Only 18 more holes, it’s not that vastly different. But even on the range when we were about to go, I was giving everybody a little fist bump and said, ‘Let’s go get it,’ and Harold (Varner III, his new Smash teammate) said, ‘Hey, don’t come out the gate sprinting. It’s not a sprint anymore.’”
It remains serious business, though, especially with a bevy of newcomers in the expanded 57-player field determined to make a quick impression even while getting used to LIV Golf’s energetic tournament days.
“I think even with the concerts and the entertainment outside of the golf, that’s something that I’m really enjoying,” Smylie said. “I feel like I’m really thriving in an environment like that, and it’s great to start my LIV career here in Riyadh.”
