Liverpool maintained their place as Premier League leaders with a cruising win at Burnley.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross-cum-shot took a deflection off Chris Wood as it swerved beyond Clarets stopper Nick Pope to break the deadlock in the first half.
The Reds ramped up their dominance before the interval with Sadio Mane extending after Roberto Firmino seized on a mistake by the hosts’ defence.
Firmino himself would wrap up the victory for Jurgen Klopp’s side as the Brazilian scored his 50th league goal courtesy courtesy of a sweeping finish.
Here were the key talking points from Turf Moor:
Mane fury underlines Reds’ standards
Few have exuded the calmness that Sadio Mane often displays.
But the Liverpool forward can also be prone to rare bouts of insolence.
His visible remonstrating after being substituted at Turf Moor, with the Reds cruising to a 3-0 win, were clearly the actions of a highly frustrated player.
Yet Mane’s reaction was an insight into the high standards that Jurgen Klopp has instilled in the European champions even at this early stage of the new season.
Mohamed Salah’s lack of awareness of available teammates when in attacking positions appeared to be at the heart of the Senegal international’s ire.
Every goal-scoring opportunity will count if Liverpool are to finally overhaul Manchester City in the title race – and Mane clearly knows it.
Trent is the real Scouse Samba
The ‘Scouse Cafu’ moniker is one that Jon Flanagan still struggles to shake.
Even the former Roma defender joined in the fun by claiming he saw similarities between the pair during Liverpool’s unsuccessful title bid in the 2013/14 season.
But Trent Alexander-Arnold has proven himself to be the real Selecao Scouser.
His unintentional strike which broke the deadlock was like something out of Roberto Carlos’ playbook for its execution and the ball’s trajectory.
The Premier League’s adjudicatory panel chalked Alexander-Arnold’s effort down as a Chris Wood own goal for a deflection that helped bamboozle Nick Pope.
Make no mistake, however, the West Derby-born defender will strike similarly impressive efforts in his own right over the course of the current campaign.
Turf shut-out is no mean feat
Life as a Liverpool understudy has not been kind to Adrian so far.
Shipping five goals in his first four outings suggested that the Spaniard appeared to be struggling as Alisson’s deputy, as did Klopp’s often water-tight defence.
No one really gave him a hope of breaking the cycle at Burnley, with Sean Dyche’s side proving notoriously difficult at both ends of the field on home soil.
Alarmingly, Liverpool had not kept a clean sheet since their Champions League final victory and Joel Matip’s return coincided with a repeat of that form.
Adrian, too, had a pivotal hand in that; regularly thwarting Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes whenever their hosts attempted to launch long-ball attacks.
With the ex-West Ham goalkeeper’s time in the spotlight set to continue for a few more weeks at least, claiming a first shut-out at Turf Moor is an impressive feat.
Shaqiri’s time fast approaching
Plenty was made pre-match of Xherdan Shaqiri’s current lack of game time.
To date, the Swiss international has failed to start a Premier League match this term; understandable when you consider Liverpool’s wealth of attacking options.
A late cameo here is unlikely to convince Shaqiri that he did not make the right decision in cancelling a recent international call-up to focus on his Anfield career.
Slowly but surely, though, the former Bayern Munich winger is edging ever closer to the regular first-team role that he continue to crave.
The post-international break will see Shaqiri become more actively used with the Champions League and a Carabao Cup trip to MK Dons ahead in the next month.
Given the impact that the 27-year-old had for Liverpool in their continental group campaign at the same stage last season, his time to shine is again approaching.