Liverpool celebrated their first appearance in front of their fans as English champions on Sunday by humbling Wolves 4-0 to join Tottenham at the top of the Premier League table.
Mohamed Salah capitalised on an error by Wolves captain Conor Coady to open the scoring midway through the first half as 2,000 supporters celebrated joyously.
Georginio Wijnaldum doubled Liverpool's lead with a wonderful curled finish from distance shortly before the hour mark and Joel Matip put the game beyond Wolves before a late own goal added gloss to the scoreline.
The comfortable win took Jurgen Klopp's men to 24 points, behind leaders Spurs on goal difference, with a summit meeting between the two teams on December 16.
The visitors started brightly and Ruben Neves hit the roof of the net with an early free-kick.
The lively Sadio Mane had a chance to put Liverpool in front in the 12th minute from an Andy Robertson cross from the left but the Senegal forward could not get his header on target.
Both teams looked sharp on the break and stand-in Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher was forced to scramble to his right to keep out a cute chipped effort from Daniel Podence.
But the 2,000 home fans inside Anfield, allowed into the stadium after coronavirus restrictions were eased in certain parts of England, had something to cheer in the 24th minute.
There did not appear to be much danger when Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson sent a long ball over the top into the Wolves penalty area.
But Coady, who used to be on Liverpool's books, miscalculated. The ball came off his chest and Salah nipped in to fire home left-footed.
Wolves were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes of the first half after Mane was adjudged to have fouled Coady.
But VAR ruled out the spot kick after the TV replay showed there was no contact.
Wolves searched for a way back into the match in the early stages of the second half and Coady found himself in a threatening position in the Liverpool box before Fabinho whipped the ball away.
Seconds later, Liverpool were charging forward again on the counter-attack, towards the Kop.
Henderson played a long ball that Wijnaldum collected before producing a measured finish into the top left-hand corner of Rui Patricio's net.
Liverpool put the result beyond doubt in the 67th minute when Salah's inswinging cross was met by Matip from close range.
By now the home side were in total control, with Salah trying to dance his way through Wolves defenders.
Liverpool's fourth goal came when substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold, returning from injury, produced a delicious cross from the right, which was turned in by Nelson Semedo for an own goal.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
