Diouf's double states Liverpool's intent

Liverpool 3 Southampton

There is a theory that Gérard Houllier's Liverpool will only win the Premiership if they can cast aside their habitual mental shackles and stray much nearer to the sublime than they have ventured before.

Well, there was little of the devil-may-care about them at Aston Villa last Sunday and, powerful though they were against Southampton yesterday, you could hardly compare them to Arsenal when they cut free and evoke gasps of admiration. But they have got maximum points from the two fixtures and they have taken an early advantage over their most potent rivals at Highbury and Old Trafford.

There was also a hint yesterday that their greatest alleged fault, predictability, might be about to be corrected. El Hadji Diouf not only scored twice in his first competitive match at Anfield but he suggested that the one thing Liverpool's opponents will not know this season is what to expect.

The goals were not particularly spectacular – the efficient despatch of chances created by Emile Heskey at the start of each half – but at other times the Senegalese striker, bought from Lens for £10m this summer, oozed talent. A flick with the heel that nearly found Michael Owen at full pelt was worthy of Eric Cantona in his pomp, and a dribble down the right that set up Heskey had Anfield purring. Little wonder he received a standing ovation when he was withdrawn after 80 minutes.

"He's a typical Liverpool player," Houllier said. "He works hard, covers a lot of ground and sacrifices himself for the sake of the team. But what excites me is his talent. He's going to be a useful link between the midfield and the attack." Damning with faint praise? "Don't forget he's only 21, he's not 22 until January," Houllier added with a smile.

You take the Diouf with the smooth, but a player who has also sampled football's rough is Danny Murphy, for whom this match was also a triumph. In the corresponding fixture last season he was booed by his own supporters; this time he got Liverpool's third goal with a penalty, hit a post with a free-kick and also made a goal-line clearance.

Southampton played well in parts – "They were the better team for 25 minutes," Houllier said afterwards – and they deprived Houllier of five points last season. But yesterday their chances of escaping from Anfield with something tangible looked unlikely within three minutes.

Steven Gerrard swept a pass to the left, where Heskey was aided by a stumble from Paul Telfer. The space invited a run to the byline, Heskey accepted with enthusiasm and his cross was delivered to the far post, where Diouf forced the ball in from five yards.

Most teams hope to contain Liverpool in the first 20 minutes, but with Plan A in tatters Southampton had to be more aggressive and showed some deft touches, most notably when Rory Delap crossed from the left and James Beattie was denied a point-blank header by the telescopic leg of Sami Hyypia.

It is well known that Liverpool like to strike on the counter, however, and after 27 minutes they almost doubled their lead. Murphy released Owen with a clever pass and the England striker was held back by Paul Williams to earn a booking. Murphy curled a free-kick on to a post; the rebound was pounced upon by Owen, but he was ruled offside.

Liverpool had soon imposed themselves on the first half and did the same with the second, increasing their lead five minutes after the restart. Abel Xavier took a long throw from the right, Heskey used his bulging frame to flick on and Diouf had just enough inches to stretch and head into the top corner.

Anfield had been strangely quiet until for long periods but, spurred on by a second goal, the volume increased and so did the home team's impetus, and they almost scored in the 54th and 56th minutes.

A long pass found Owen, who sped away from Williams and was stopped only by a block by Michael Svensson. The ball came to Owen again, but his shot on the turn was denied as he made the rare mistake of failing to connect properly. The ball rolled easily to Paul Jones. Two minutes later Owen flicked on and Murphy's half-volley was saved first by Jones and then cleared by Telfer.

Southampton came close when Murphy headed on to his own post as he cleared Jo Tessem's 66th-minute effort, but that was a rare attack from the visitors and Liverpool duly got their third with two minutes remaining.

Bruno Cheyrou, another of Houllier's summer purchases, was brought down by Wayne Bridge on the right of the Southampton area and Murphy thumped the penalty to the right of the diving Jones.

"We did well until we were 30 yards out and then we were toothless," Gordon Strachan, the Southampton manager, said. "That has summed up our recent matches."

Liverpool 3 Southampton 0
Diouf 3, 51, Murphy pen 90

Half-time: 1-0 Attendance: 45,058