(Reuters/NAN)
Striker Diogo Jota netted his first hat-trick for Liverpool as they thrashed Atalanta 5-0 on Tuesday in a blistering performance.
The victory ensured that Liverpool went five points clear at the top of their UEFA Champions League Group D after three straight wins.
Jota’s treble continued his scintillating start to his Liverpool career.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane also got on the scoresheet in a superb display from Juergen Klopp’s English Premier League (EPL) champions.
Jota wasted an early chance before giving his side the lead in the 16th minute.
He latched on to a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold, holding off Jose Luis Palomino before delicately flicking the ball past Marco Sportiello.
The Portugal forward, who arrived from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported fee of 41 million pounds (54 million dollars) in September, made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute.
This was after he controlled a raking pass from Joe Gomez with his left foot before firing home with his right.
With the home side reeling, Salah scored a super solo goal two minutes into the second half.
He collected a clearance from Andy Robertson and running from the halfway line before curling the ball in at the far post.
Minutes later it was Mane’s turn to make it 4-0 with a sublime chipped finish.
Jota then completed his hat-trick with another coolly-taken effort in the 55th minute for his seventh goal in his first 10 appearances for Liverpool.
Atalanta’s best chances on the night fell to Duvan Zapata, who clipped the underside of the crossbar with a superb curling strike.
He twice tested Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson with stinging shots and also had a stoppage-time effort ruled out for offside.
Salah almost scored a sixth for Liverpool in the 83rd minute.
Once again he ran half the length of the pitch after an Atalanta corner was cleared, but this time his shot was steered out for a corner by Sportiello.
The victory puts Liverpool top of the group with nine points after three games, having conceded no goals.
Ajax Amsterdam are second on four points and ahead of Atalanta on goal difference after a 2-1 win away to Danish side FC Midtjylland.
