MIGHTY MO'S MASTERCLASS

Salah delivers lesson in brilliance

- by Andy Dunn

FOR half an hour, even Virgil van Dijk, the coolest defender to wear a Liverpool jersey since Alan Hansen, looked flustered.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was having a torrid time, the home side were buzzing and only the frame of Alisson's goal kept the Premier League leaders on level terms with Bournemouth.

But Liverpool did what champions-elect do. Dug in, simplified things, and chiselled out the type of victory that seals titles.

Sure, they rode their luck at times, but this is a team that passes almost every serious examination with hugely impressive efficiency.

This is a team that might get ruffled occasionally but never panics. This is a team that has a distinct physical robustness. And, of course, this is a team that has Mo Salah. For now, at least.

The idea that Liverpool should simply pay whatever Salah wants to stay and give him the length of contract that would not normally be handed to a player who will be 33 when his current deal ends is far too simplistic.