Mane, Salah and Diaz strike as Liverpool hit back in style to beat Norwich

Liverpool had to dig deep for a 3-1 Premier League victory against lowly Norwich City, with goals by Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz securing the points after the visitors had threatened to pull off a huge shock at Anfield on Saturday.

In the end it looked relatively comfortable for Juergen Klopp’s side as they reduced leaders Manchester City’s lead to six points — for a few hours at least.

But when Milot Rashica’s shot deflected off of Joel Matip to give Norwich the lead just after the break, Liverpool’s hopes of putting some pressure on City looked in peril.

They were eventually rewarded for their intense pressure when Mane’s overhead kick levelled it up in the 64th minute and less than three minutes later Salah made it 2-1 after latching onto a long clearance by keeper Alisson. Diaz calmed Liverpool’s nerves with a delightful finish in the 81st minute, finally flooring a courageous Norwich side.

Liverpool’s fifth successive league win, and eighth in all competitions, put them on 57 points from 25 games, with City, who host Tottenham Hotspur later, on 63.

For all their effort, defeat put Norwich back at the bottom of the table after wins for Burnley and Watford. Dean Smith’s side have 17 points, five behind 17th-placed Newcastle United who have played a game less.

But what had looked on paper like a formality, was anything but as Norwich went toe-to-toe with Liverpool from the first whistle.

Palace limited the visitors to only a handful of opportunities including a 35-yard pile-driver shot by centre-half Antonio Rudiger in the 11th minute that Vicente Guaita palmed away acrobatically.

The hosts had their own chances with Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise coming close to breaking the deadlock as Palace sought to catch the visitors on the counterattack.

Chelsea, who last weekend won the Fifa World Club Cup and next weekend face Liverpool in the League Cup final, have struggled to get the best out of record signing Romelu Lukaku and he mostly cut a lonely figure once again.

The win left Chelsea seven points behind second-placed Liverpool who beat Norwich City and 13 points behind league leaders Manchester City who play Tottenham Hotspur later on Saturday. Palace sit in 13th place.

Second-half goals from Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka helped Arsenal secure a 2-1 win over Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday and keep pace in the top four race.

Victory means The Gunners remain sixth with 42 points, level with West Ham — who have played three games more — and just one behind Manchester United in fourth, whom Arsenal have played two games fewer than.