Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Xherdan Shaqiri Power Liverpool Past Cardiff 4-1

Sadio Mane scored twice to fire Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table after a 4-1 win over Cardiff City at Anfield on Saturday. 

The Reds looked set for a comfortable victory when Mohamed Salah slotted home at the far post after just 10 minutes.

However, despite dominating the game, they had to wait until the 66th minute for Mane to power in their second.

Callum Paterson tapped home from close range to give Cardiff hope in the closing stages, but substitute Xherdan Shaqiri curled home to make it 3-1 before Mane grabbed his second late on.

Salah, Liverpool Need to Be More Ruthless to Win Premier League Title

Liverpool looked set to cruise to victory after going ahead with just 10 minutes on the clock. However, their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal meant they had to work hard for the win and only sealed the three points late on.

The Reds were dominant in the first half against a limited Cardiff side and monopolised possession:

Yet, despite all their possession, they struggled to carve out clear goalscoring chances.

The closest they came to doubling their lead in the first half was a Virgil van Dijk effort that hit the post and an Adam Lallana diving header that was cleared off the line.

Their failure to put the game to bed almost proved costly. Cardiff did manage to get the ball in the back of the net early in the second half, but defender Sean Morrison was flagged offside.

Mane made the game safe on 66 minutes with a fine strike to finally put some distance between the two teams.

Yet Cardiff refused to give up and pulled one back with a little over 10 minutes to go. A Junior Hoilett cross took a deflection off Van Dijk and fell to Paterson to convert.

Football writer Artur Petrosyan noted how close Liverpool had been to claiming a defensive record:

Paterson's goal seemed to rouse Liverpool, who scored twice in three minutes to secure the three points. Salah set up Shaqiri, who beat Morrison and curled his first Liverpool goal past goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.

Mane then scored his 50th Premier League goal with a chipped finish after being played through by Salah:

It ended up being a comfortable win for Liverpool, but they ought to have had the game wrapped up much earlier.

Manager Jurgen Klopp will have been frustrated by their inability to turn their dominance into goals in the first half, and they'll need to be more ruthless if they are to claim the title this season.

Shaqiri Should Start Ahead of Lallana

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Shaqiri started the game on the bench with Lallana in his place, but Liverpool missed the Switzerland international's creativity initially.

Lallana was the weak link in attack in the first half. His lack of pace, poor touch and inability to link up with Salah and Mane saw Liverpool struggle to break Cardiff down.

Liverpool fan Dharma Bhagalia offered his view:

Shaqiri replaced Lallana on the hour mark with the score still at 1-0. It was to prove an effective change, as the 27-year-old brought energy and inspiration to the team.

He also opened his account for the club in some style. He still had plenty to do when he received Salah's pass, but his dribble and finish were sublime.

It was a lively cameo from Shaqiri, who is becoming an increasingly important figure for the Reds. He now has three assists and a goal in his last four games for the club.

He deserves to be ahead of Lallana in the pecking order, and Klopp will find it difficult to leave him out on this form.

What's Next?

Both teams return to Premier League action next Saturday. Liverpool are away at Arsenal in the day's late kick-off, while Cardiff play host to Leicester City earlier in the day.