Five impressive stats from LFC's rout of West Ham

Liverpool began the 2018-19 Premier League campaign with a comprehensive 4-0 win over West Ham United at Anfield on Sunday as Jürgen Klopp's swashbuckling side picked up where they left off last term.

Mohamed Salah struck the opener, Sadio Mane scored a brace and Daniel Sturridge netted late on as the Reds put four past the Hammers for the fourth top-flight match on the bounce.

Liverpool are only the second side in Premier League history to score four or more goals in four consecutive games against a single opponent, with Tottenham Hotspur also having done so against Stoke City.

And if the scoreline was familiar, so was a commanding Liverpool performance peppered with moments of individual brilliance. We've picked out five great stats that help tell the tale of the match...

1. Quick-starting Sadio

Liverpool's new No.10 Mane relishes an opening-day fixture and his two goals against West Ham meant he became the first Red to score in three successive curtain-raisers since the great John Barnes did so between 1989-90 and 1991-92.

The Senegal forward registered a sensational solo strike in a thrilling 4-3 win over Arsenal in 2016-17, produced a sumptuous finish in a 3-3 draw at Watford a year later and netted a brace on Sunday to join a select group of players to have scored on the first weekend of three consecutive Premier League seasons.

2. Super-sub Sturridge

Sturridge scored six times in nine pre-season matches this summer and it took the Liverpool striker just 24 seconds to net his first competitive goal of the campaign after coming off the bench against the Hammers.

That's the quickest Premier League goal scored by a Reds substitute since Opta began keeping records of such things back in 2006.

Sturridge replaced Salah for the final few minutes of the match and turned in James Milner's corner at the back post with his very first touch.

The No.15 has now scored 12 goals from the bench during his Liverpool career to rank joint-second, along with Ryan Babel, in the list of the club's most prolific subs. David Fairclough leads the way on 18.

3. Milner's midfield masterclass

Naby Keita may have enjoyed an impressive debut in Liverpool's three-man midfield, but it was Milner who pulled the strings with a masterclass of a performance.

The vice-captain had more touches (122) than any other player on the pitch and made 102 passes, 23 more than any of his colleagues, with a 93.1 per cent completion rate.

Fifty-seven of those passes were in the opposition's half and he created three goalscoring chances, including the assist for Mane's first goal.

An unstoppable force, Milner also led the team with seven crosses and ran further than any of his colleagues too - clocking up 12.55 kilometres.

4. Robertson on the rampage

Since joining the Reds a year ago, Andy Robertson has gone from strength to strength.

Solid in defence, the Scot also provides an attacking threat down the left flank and it was his overlapping run and low cross that presented Salah with a tap-in for the opening goal against West Ham.

Assists are a key feature of Robertson's game and he provided the key pass for five league goals last season, which ranked him favourably among his fellow full-backs.

Robertson's five assists came in just 22 top-flight matches, giving him the best assists-per-game ratio of his peers, and he's already up and running in the new campaign.

5. Salah still on the goal trail

And then, of course, there is Salah, who marked his 50th Premier League match with his 35th goal in the competition.

Only Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer have ever scored more in their first half-century of appearances in the Premier League, with both notching 41 goals.

It took the Egyptian King just 19 minutes to open his account for the 2018-19 campaign and he has now scored 20 times in 20 Premier League appearances for Liverpool at Anfield.

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