By Kehinde Okeowo
The English Premier League resumed after the international break with Liverpool, trashing Watford 5-0 at the Vicarage Road Stadium in London.
Watford, who paraded two Nigerians, William Trust-Ekong and Emmanuel Dennis were second-best in the game, as they were unable to manage a shot on target in the first half.
The visitors dominated proceedings and were expectedly rewarded in the 9th minute when Mohamed Salah presented Senagalese striker, Sadio Mane with a sumptuous pass he converted for Liverpool’s first goal.
Nigeria striker Dennis was starved of service from Watford’s midfield and they got punished once again when Roberto Firmino scored another goal on the 37th minute after an assist from James Milner to make it 2-0.
The second half started in the same fashion, with Liverpool still extremely dominant and they made it count when Firmino got a brace in the 52nd minute to make it 3-0 to the away side.
The dust had hardly settled when Salah danced through Watford’s defense again to score his brace two minutes later.
The four goals were a rude awakening for the new Italian Watford coach, Claudio Ranieri, who made two substitutions earlier in the second half, as he replaced Dennis with Joao Pedro in the 69th minute.
Fans of the home side who have been very quiet all afternoon were given a moment to smile when the substitute Jeremy Ngakia started a move that was placed well wide by Juan Hernandez.
The home side continued to play better football after the introduction of Ngakia to the delight of their fans who cheered their players despite the disappointment.
Jurgen Klopp’s side compounded the woes of the Hornets in the 90th minute when Firmino scored a hat-trick to make it 5-0 to take Liverpool to the top of the Premier League.