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Liverpool comfortably eased past Norwich City in their opening Premier League game of the season with a dominant 3-0 win away from home last Saturday.
The Reds fielded a strong lineup as Virgil van Dijk made his much-anticipated return to help Liverpool keep a clean-sheet against the Canaries.
Norwich City started as the brighter of the two teams, but Liverpool’s quality came through. Liverpool relied on goals from Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah to pick up their first win of the season.
The clean-sheet was also impressive considering the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip only played in a handful of pre-season games.
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Several others impressed for Liverpool on the day, so without further ado, let’s take a look at the
Top 5 Liverpool players from Gameweek 1 of the 2021-22 Premier League season
#5 Kostas Tsimikas
Kostas Tsimikas impressed for Liverpool in pre-season and the Greek international put in a solid display at left-back against Norwich City.
Although there were a couple of instances where he lost concentration, Tsimikas did most of the things right.
Replacing Andy Robertson isn’t an easy task as the Scotland international is one of the most complete full-backs in the Premier League. Tsimikas, however, put in an assured display at the back and did well going forward.
Tsimikas finished the game with three successful tackles and completed two successful dribbles, the joint-highest in the Liverpool team on the day. With Robertson set to miss the clash against Burnley in gameweek 2 of the Premier League next Saturday, Tsimikas will have another game to impress.
#4 Joel Matip
All the attention was on Virgil van Dijk following his return, and Joel Matip’s impressive performances went under the radar.
Like van Dijk, Matip's season came to a pre-mature end in the 2020-21 Premier League campaign. The centre-back featured heavily in pre-season for Liverpool and put in an impressive display against Norwich City.
Perhaps one of the most underrated ball-playing centre-backs in the Premier League, Matip’s distribution was impeccable against Norwich City.
The Cameroonian won two aerial duels and had a pass success rate of 93%, and rarely gave the Norwich attackers a sniff.
#3 James Milner
James Milner is aging like fine wine as the former England international is one of the fittest players in the Liverpool squad. Crucially, he does a commendable job whenever called upon.
With Fabinho and Jordan Henderson arriving late following their exploits for their respective national sides, Milner was drafted into the lineup against Norwich City.
The 35-year old put in a solid display for Liverpool, and didn’t allow the Norwich attackers any time on the ball.
Milner managed three tackles and two interceptions in the middle of the park, and was dribbled past just one in the entire game.
Although he may not play too many games after Henderson and Fabinho are fully fit, Milner will be a crucial squad player for Liverpool this season.
#2 Naby Keita
Like Milner, Naby Keita put in an impressive display in the middle of the park and was equally good going forward.
The former RB Leipzig star has had an injury-ravaged spell at Liverpool so far, but has had a good pre-season and is perhaps in peak condition right now.
Keita made an incredible six tackles in the game and harried the Norwich players into losing the ball with is pressing. His pass success rate was 95%, and Norwich struggled to contain him when he drove forward.
Alongside Milner, Keita forged a solid partnership for Liverpool in midfield. The fact that van Dijk and Matip did not have to make a single tackle shows how good Keita and Milner were in midfield.
#1 Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah never starts the season on a dull note, does he? The Egyptian international’s goal against Norwich City saw him become the first player in Premier League history to score in five successive opening game weeks.
Salah was pretty much unstoppable last Saturday as he drove at the Norwich defense with pace and had as many as five shots on target.
The Egyptian managed two assists and a goal at the end was the cherry on top. His combination play with the likes of Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota was impressive, and the Liverpool fans should be buoyed by his bright start. The Reds will almost certainly rely heavily on Salah for the remainder of the season.
