Liverpool returned to the Premier League’s summit with a 3-0 win over Bournemouth.

Jurgen Klopp’s side set about banishing a slump of successive draws when Sadio Mane headed home the opener on 24 minutes from a James Milner cross.

Georginio Wijnaldum extended the Reds’ lead with a dinked finish just 10 minutes later after Andy Robertson floated a ball into the penalty area.

Just three minutes after the interval, Mohamed Salah ended his goal drought with a low strike courtesy of clever backheel from Roberto Firmino.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Returning Wijnaldum is the main man

 

Among the accusations levelled at Liverpool during their recent blip, the one conspicuous by its absence was the same that had plagued them for a decade.

If Jurgen Klopp’s side are guilty of being a ‘one-man team’, as their predecessors were, the individual’s identity is rarely unchanged from one week to the next.

Against Bournemouth, it was the turn of Georginio Wijnaldum to assume a starring role as he restored much-needed parity to the heart of midfield.

The Dutchman’s first-half display alone was worth the man-of-the-match award, not least a sumptuous dinked finish for Liverpool’s second of the afternoon.

Klopp’s admission that Wijnaldum was still not 100 per cent upon his return to action makes his flawless performance all the more impressive.

Salah setting his sights on Shearer

 

Mohamed Salah’s place on the Anfield pantheon is no longer up for debate.

But further greatness beckons after the Egyptian matched Luis Suarez’s feat of recording 20 goals or more in successive campaigns for Liverpool.

His strike to round off this victory edged him nearer to eclipsing Alan Shearer’s record as the quickest player to reach 50 Premier League goals for a single club.

Should he find the net in Liverpool’s next three games, Salah will beat Shearer’s feat of a half-century in 66 games for Blackburn with 90 minutes to spare.

He has already proven himself more than capable of assuming Suarez’s mantle. Laying siege to Shearer’s sceptre would elevate him to another level higher.

Reds’ front three back in sync

 

Salah’s goal-scoring was not the only welcome return to form for Liverpool.

Bournemouth simply could not handle the pace and fluidity that he, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino unleashed as their triumvirate again dovetailed.

Anfield’s fearsome front three have now totted up a combined 38 league goals. To put that into context, it is more than Bournemouth’s entire team has amassed.

They could have further boosted that tally as they routinely picked Eddie Howe’s side apart with clever link-up play and breakneck speed with which they attacked.

That renewed ascendancy can only bode well for a crucial end of season run-in.

Anfield shakes off the fear factor

 

Much was made of the anxiety which hung around Anfield as Leicester snatched a point at the end of last month. Panic appeared to have finally crept in.

Fast-forward 10 days and all suddenly appears right at the famous old stadium with any fears that the Foxes’ visit had brought to the surface quickly dissipated.

Calls to arms were fully heeded as the atmosphere appeared uncharacteristically bouncy for a Saturday 3pm encounter against a lethargic mid-table side.

Seeing their team again swaggering to the league’s summit provided the Kop with ample motivation to weaponise its voice in a more familiar fashion.

Any notion that Anfield’s fear factor was set to stay is now officially debunked.