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LONDON. — Liverpool swept to the top of the Premier League as Sadio Mane’s double inspired a 6-1 rout of Watford yesterday. Jurgen Klopp’s side have emerged as genuine title contenders and they moved one point clear of second placed Chelsea thanks to a scintillating goal spree at Anfield.The Reds took the lead in the 27th minute when Senegal winger Mane met Philippe Coutinho’s corner with a header that looped past Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. Just three minutes later, Roberto Firmino picked out Coutinho on the edge of the penalty area and the Liverpool forward fired home with a fine low strike.

Klopp’s team were three up two minutes before halftime as Emre Can arrived unmarked at the far post to head in Adam Lallana’s cross. The goals kept coming and Firmino added the fourth in the 57th minute, the Brazilian finishing off Lallana’s cross, before Mane got his second in the 60th minute with a clinical close-range effort from Firmino’s pass.

Daryl Janmaat notched his first goal for Watford in the 75th minute, but there was still time for Liverpool to complete the demolition in the 90th minute through Georginio Wijnaldum’s tap-in.

Liverpool have won seven of their last eight league games and go into the international break with growing belief they can win the club’s first English league title since 1990.

Elsewhere, Hull staged a second half fight-back to end their barren run with a 2-1 victory over Southampton at the KCOM Stadium. Southampton went in front in the sixth minute when Curtis Davies fouled Maya Yoshida and Charlie Austin belted the resulting penalty straight down the middle.

But Robert Snodgrass’s excellent finish from 12 yards drew Hull level in the 61st minute and former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson put the Tigers ahead when he glanced in a free-kick two minutes later.

Hull remain in the relegation zone, but their first win in nine league games, ending a run of six successive league defeats, at least offered hope they could avoid the drop. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho’s wretched week ended on a high note as Manchester United’s big guns Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba finally began firing, both finding the target in a 3-1 win at dismal Swansea City yesterday.

Mourinho watched from the stands at the Liberty Stadium following his touchline ban imposed by the Football Association on Wednesday and was buoyed to see Ibrahimovic score twice — his first league goals in eight weeks – and Pogba net a superb volley.

United, vastly improved after their midweek Europa League defeat at Fenerbahce, went ahead with a 15th minute strike from Pogba worthy of his 89 million pounds price tag before Ibrahimovic ended his goal drought with a sharp first-half double in the space of 12 minutes.

Mike van der Hoorn offered winless Swansea manager Bob Bradley brief hope of an unlikely salvage job when he headed in Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 69th minute free kick but his Swans remain mired in relegation trouble, on five points, the same as bottom club Sunderland. — Supersport