Cometh the hour, cometh the man for Liverpool. Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah grabbed the headlines as Liverpool beat Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town 2-0 at the Portman Road Stadium. A goal and an assist in the match means Salah now has 9 goals and 5 assists in Matchweek 1, scored across 8 seasons at Liverpool. Salah is now outright the top goal scorer in opening fixtures of the season, moving past Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard’s 8 strikes apiece.
The game itself was a game of two distinct halves, with Ipswich Town putting on a resolute performance in the first half. Both teams had 7 touches in their opponent’s box in the first half, proof of how cagey the game actually was. The second half was a different story altogether, as Liverpool dismantled their opponents. Liverpool got their first shot on target around the hour mark, when Salah set up Diogo Jota’s goal. Shortly afterwards, the Egyptian got himself on the scoresheet after being fed through on goal by Dominik Szoboszlai.
Newcomers Ipswich Town did themselves proud in their first game in the Premier League in 22 years. Omari Hutchinson, Ipswich Town’s record signing, looked lively in attack. A moment of madness in the first half came when Wes Burns appeared to use his hand to block Jota’s advance down the wing. Burns, already on a yellow card, was lucky to escape a sending off.
Liverpool begin the Arne Slot era with a safe 2-0 win away to Ipswich town. An end to end game, where Liverpool finally got the better of their newly promoted opponents. Kieran McKenna’s team can take a lot of positives away from the game. Liverpool face Brentford next week, while Ipswich Town travel to Premier League Champions Manchester City.