Bournemouth vs Liverpool: Mohamed Salah returns to his best and Naby Keita falls flat as Cherries struggle

Liverpool extended their unbeaten Premier League start to the season with a convincing 4-0 win against Bournemouth to pile the pressure on Manchester City as they move to the top of the table.

Mohamed Salah ended a run of three-games with a hat-trick to sink the Cherries, who conceded a fourth when Steve Cook turned a low cross into his own net.

Jurgen Klopp opted to start Sadio Mane on the bench with the winger still recovering from a laceration to his foot ahead of Tuesday’s crucial Champions League tie against Napoli, but Liverpool produced one of their best performances of the season.

Here’s five things we learned from the Vitality Stadium.

Mohamed Salah returns to his best with hat-trick...

Salah’s eyes lit up when Nathan Ake was booked in the 11th minute and from then on the Bournemouth central defender was in for a tough afternoon.

Salah scored his first goal in three matches when he reacted to Asmir Begovic spilling Roberto Firmino’s shot and converted from close range, although replays show he was offside.

The second strike is the one that deserves to be discussed the most. He picked the ball up from deep and began a trademark run through the defence before slotting the ball across Begovic and into the bottom corner.

It was the kind of goal that won him so many awards and acclaims last season and also something that he has struggled to replicate this campaign. In a game where it appeared that Liverpool were beginning to find it hard to create chances, Salah stepped up to produce a moment from nothing, something that could really help them in the title race.

Liverpool put pressure on Manchester City...

The two-horse race for the title has already seen the emergence of questions about whether it’s an advantage to play matches first, the kind of intrigue that usually arises in April or May when the run-in heats up.

Ahead of the match Klopp said he has no problem with the scheduling but admitted it can be hard to “focus completely on your own performance” knowing how close things at the top of the table are.

Liverpool’s win was a rare chance for them to leap-frog City and put pressure on them beating Chelsea and Stamford Bridge this evening.

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Callum Wilson's absence felt...

A hamstring injury ruled Callum Wilson out of the lunchtime clash and his absence was certainly felt by Bournemouth.

While they did have some good spells, the Cherries struggled to stretch Liverpool’s defence, who played with a high line to keep the hosts away from goal.

Josh King, Wilson’s replacement, lined up with Ryan Fraser at the top of the side and snatched at a few chances as well as embarking on several promising runs but lacked the conviction the England international provides.

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Naby Keita benefits from rotation...

It was a dark time for many fantasy football managers when the 11:30 team news revealed that Klopp opted to rest Sadio Mane ahead of Tuesday’s crucial Champions League tie against Napoli.

It meant that Naby Keita started his sixth game of the season but it was an appearance that only lasted 65 minutes.

His versatility saw him operate across the midfield in several positions but he was unable to have a significant impact on proceedings.

Bournemouth run against top-six comes to an end...

While Bournemouth may have failed to pick up any points against the top-six teams that they have played this season, they certainly have given the best sides a scare.

Bournemouth gave Arsenal and Manchester United a scare when they visited the Vitality Stadium and were unlucky not to win in games they played very well in.

Against Liverpool the same energy and attacking threat that had previously troubled big teams was missing.