It just had to be, did it not? Cristiano Ronaldo, back at Old Trafford, of course he would get on the scoresheet.

Ronaldo netted not once, but twice in United's 4-1 defeat of Newcastle United on Saturday, announcing his return to the Premier League in style.

Meanwhile, a player who has established himself as one of the possible heirs to the Ronaldo (and Lionel Messi) throne at the pinnacle of the game reached a century of goals in the competition.

And after their worst start in generations, Arsenal finally found a way to win.

Here are some of the more curious Opta facts from the latest round of games.

Age is just a number for evergreen Ronaldo

Aged 36 year and 218 days, Ronaldo became the oldest player to score a Premier League double in over a decade.

The last player of more advancing years to do so? Well, another of the league's greats, of course. That being Graham Alexander of Burnley, who scored twice in a match against Hull City in April 2010 at the age of 38 years and 182 days. 

On the same day as Alexander was leading Burnley to a 4-1 win over the Tigers, Ronaldo played his second LaLiga Clasico. Real Madrid lost 2-0, following on from Barcelona's 5-0 victory earlier in the season.

Back to Old Trafford on Saturday, where Newcastle's dismal run continued. They have only managed one win at the Theatre of Dreams in their last 27 league attempts, while Steve Bruce, a former United stalwart, has lost 12 of his 13 games at his old stomping ground as a visiting manager, with his teams scoring just six goals over that run.

Ronaldo's gap of 12 years and 124 days between goals is the second-longest between two strikes by the same player in Premier League history, after Matt Jackson, who went 13 years and 187 days in between netting for Everton and Wigan Athletic respectively.

The Portugal superstar also broke Damien Delaney's record (11y 155d) for the biggest gap between Premier League appearances, with Ronaldo turning out for Manchester United again 12 years and 118 days since his previous game in May 2009.

Paul Pogba stands out on his own at the top of the assist charts with seven to his name already. He is the only player to have recorded as many as 10 assists in the Premier League in 2021, while his tally across the opening four games is the most any player has registered in the first four games of a Premier League season.

Mo moves into the 100 club

Liverpool's 3-0 win over Leeds United was somewhat marred by a horrid injury for Harvey Elliott. But the Reds were nevertheless convincing winners, with Mohamed Salah opening the scoring with his 100th Premier League goal.

Salah has reached his century in 162 games, with only four players getting there quicker. His team also moved onto a century in terms of attempts on goal across their four league games so far this season.

Their tally of 30 shots was quite remarkable, though Jurgen Klopp will want an improvement on the 10 per cent conversion rate. 

Sadio Mane had a game-leading 10 shots, yet only two of those hit the target – the Senegal star finally scoring in second-half stoppage time. It was the most attempts he has ever had in a Premier League game, and more than any other player has managed in any match so far this season (Romelu Lukaku having had eight for Chelsea against Arsenal last month).

Villa left reeling by Rom yet again

There must have been a collective sigh of relief around Villa Park when, as Aston Villa were preparing for life back in the top flight, Lukaku left the Premier League to join Serie A giants Inter.

But now the Belgian has returned to England and, as he has a knack of doing, back to finding the net against the poor old Villans.

He scored twice in Chelsea's 3-0 win on Saturday, his first goals at Stamford Bridge for any team, in what was his 15th appearance at the ground.

Lukaku has now scored in each of his last six Premier League appearances against Villa (eight goals) – only against West Ham has he had a longer run of scoring in consecutive games against a specific opponent in the competition (seven, between 2013 and 2016).

Arteta finally gets off the ground

The pressure might well have been too much had bottom-of-the-pile Arsenal failed to beat Norwich City on Saturday, but fortunately for Mikel Arteta, his Gunners side came up with the goods.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sealed a 1-0 win in a match that saw Arsenal have 30 attempts, the most they have had in a league game since producing 33 against Manchester United in December 2017.

Remarkably, with Liverpool also having 30 shots against Leeds, the record from last season (29, set by Manchester City against Leeds in April) has already been surpassed twice.

This is Norwich's worst ever start to a league campaign after four games (zero points, -10 goal difference) and just the third time they have started a season with four league defeats.

Aaron Ramsdale, meanwhile, became the first English goalkeeper to make a Premier League appearance for Arsenal since David Seaman way back in May 2003.

Mikel Arteta hinted Aaron Ramsdale may retain his place in Arsenal's starting XI over Bernd Leno after keeping a clean sheet on his Premier League debut for the Gunners.

Arsenal shelled out for a deal that could reach a reported £30million to prise goalkeeper Ramsdale from relegated Sheffield United during the last transfer window.

Leno had the jersey for the opening three league matches of the season, which saw Arsenal beaten by Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City without scoring a goal.

Ramsdale came into the fold for Saturday's 1-0 win over Norwich City and put in an assured display, albeit he was rarely tested by a Canaries side that managed a solitary shot on target.

Since Leno joined Arsenal ahead of the 2018-19 campaign, the German has a slightly better save percentage than Ramsdale (70.87 to 68.59) and, as you would probably expect, has more clean sheets with 24 to 11.

Leno has made more errors leading to goals (eight to three), while per 90 minutes he makes fewer saves (3.17 to 3.64) – although again given Ramsdale was previously representing Bournemouth and the Blades this is perhaps to be expected.

Bigger tests lie in wait for Ramsdale than a shot-shy Norwich but Arsenal boss Arteta appeared to suggest the spot is his to lose.

"He was terrific, not only what he did on the technical side but what he transmits, his chemistry with the back line, his body language. It was top,' said Arteta.

"We have two fantastic keepers, I had to make a decision and it was the right one.

"I want to see how they perform, we need performances. Whoever is more reliable is going to play."

Mikel Arteta believes the last two weeks have been an important learning curve after Arsenal edged past Norwich City 1-0 to collect their first Premier League points of the season.

The Gunners finally scored at the fourth time of asking, avoiding the unwanted club record of going goalless in their opening four league games for the first time in their history.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's tap-in proved the difference – his fifth goal in three top-flight appearances against the Canaries – as the hosts climbed off the foot of the table and up to 16th.

Arteta was pleased with his team's efforts as they extended their top-flight unbeaten run to eight against Norwich, reflecting on what he sees as a successful two-week period.

"We had to suffer but I knew to win the game it would be like this," Arteta told BBC Sport post-match.

"After three defeats things get complicated. I must say it has been the best 10 or 14 days in my professional career. Not the easiest, but the best.

"You learn a lot in difficult moments, who you are with. In difficult moments when you see the people and the level of organisation and the fans we have.

"They were ready to suffer today but they just give, give, give to the team. Today and the last week everything glided together.

"We have to improve in a lot of things but today we made seven changes and already it looked different."

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ended Arsenal's long wait for a goal as the Gunners collected their first Premier League points of the season with a 1-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday.

Aubameyang's tap-in just after the hour mark proved the difference as Mikel Arteta's men avoided becoming the first Arsenal team to fail to score in their opening four league games.

Nicolas Pepe and debutant Takehiro Tomiyasu had both threatened but the Gabon forward managed to poke home to secure the hosts' first points of the season at the fourth time of asking.

Norwich, who sat above Saturday's opponents on goals scored, are rooted to the foot of the table and are yet to pick up a point

Kieran Tierney's curling pass created the first chance for Aubameyang but he could only scuff his left-footed effort as Tim Krul scrambled backwards.

Kenny McLean then flicked wide from Max Aarons' delivery before Krul rushed out to deny Aubameyang, who had latched onto Martin Odegaard's long ball.

Tierney injected energy into a slow-pace first half, driving down the left before standing up a cross to the back post where Tomiyasu smashed acrobatically over.

The second half started in attritional fashion as well, with Bukayo Saka spurning the only half-chance as his hesitation caused his right-footed attempt to be blocked.

Saka saw a second effort blocked moments later and the loose ball ricocheted to Pepe, who had at the goal at his mercy at the far post, only for loanee Brandon Williams to produce a magnificent last-ditch intervention.

However, Aubameyang finally ended Arsenal's long wait for a top-flight goal, tapping in from point-blank range after seeing Pepe strike both posts after an initial save from Krul.

Norwich thought the opener should have been ruled out for offside but VAR disagreed before Emile Smith-Rowe failed to double the hosts' lead in the closing stages.

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal must "reset" following their disappointing start to the Premier League season.

The Gunners sit bottom of the table and are yet to register a point ahead of welcoming Norwich City to the Emirates on Saturday.

Arteta's side have lost each of their opening three games against Brentford, Chelsea and reigning champions Manchester City, while shipping nine goals without reply.

Though he will be without the suspended Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny, who has a thigh injury, the manager has Gabriel, Thomas Partey and Eddie Nketiah available for selection again after injury.

Meanwhile, Ben White will also return after previously testing positive for coronavirus.

And Arteta is hopeful his squad can start afresh against the Canaries.

"I am really looking forward to having everybody available and trying to start the season the way we want," he said.

"We don't want to use any excuses, but we know how difficult the start was with injuries and a lot of COVID issues we had, and extremely difficult games to play.

"We have to reset now, we need to start and hopefully get everybody back on track, and start to improve our game, which is what we have to do.

"The pressure is always there to be as high as possible in the league table.

"We need that first win. We're playing in front of our fans after a disappointing start, so it is down to us to provide everything that we have performance-wise, to gain a result at the end."

Arteta also said that former midfielder Jack Wilshere is always welcome to train to the club, where he scored 14 goals in 197 senior appearances between 2008 and 2018.

Wilshere is a free agent following his release from Championship side Bournemouth at the end of last season, while he recently trained with Italian club Como in a bid to boost his fitness.

Once tipped as a future England star, a string of injury problems have prevented the 29-year-old from truly kicking on and fulfilling his potential.

"[Jack is] someone that I know, that I shared a dressing room with and is so loved by everyone here," Arteta added.

"Our doors are always open."

Schalke centre-back Ozan Kabak has joined Norwich City on a season-long loan.

Daniel Farke's men confirmed the deal on Monday, with the newly promoted side retaining the option to buy for a reported £12million (€14m) at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.

The 21-year-old becomes another name on Norwich's growing list of acquisitions as they seek to retain their Premier League status.

Kabak spent the second half of the last campaign at Liverpool amid their shortage of centre-backs, appearing 13 times in all competitions.

The Turkey defender, who made the final squad for Euro 2020 in June, ranked third among Jurgen Klopp's defenders to play more than 10 games for passing accuracy, completing 87.5 per cent.

The Schalke loanee also sat third among club charts for blocks (seven) and fourth for tackles (25).

Upon joining Norwich on loan, Kabak told the club's official website: "I'm very happy to be a part of this family. I'm looking forward to playing in front of the fans and getting some points.

"I spoke with the head coach and I’m really impressed by his project and what he said to me. I believe in him and his project.

"I played in the Premier League last year and I really enjoyed it. So, I want to play again and that's why I’m here. I want to play in the Premier League and to give something to the team.

"I'm looking forward to playing in front of the fans with this jersey. We will work hard to get some wins and take some points to make our fans happy."

Manchester United defender Brandon Williams has joined Norwich City on a season-long loan.

The versatile full-back becomes Norwich's latest acquisition during a busy transfer window as they look to retain their top-flight status.

The 20-year-old's breakthrough campaign with United came in 2019-20, playing 36 times across all competitions in the absence of the injured Luke Shaw.

Playing three games more than Shaw, Williams produced 194 recoveries in comparison to the England international's total of 131, while also winning 11 more duels than his club colleague.

However, with an upturn in Shaw's form and the arrival of Alex Telles at Old Trafford, the academy product - who signed a new four-year deal last term - has fallen down the pecking order.

Upon completion of his loan move to Norwich, Williams told the club's official website: "It feels very different. It’s the first time I’ve ever played for a different club before but I’m just really excited to get started, meet everybody and get my season going.

"It’s a massive club and I like the way they play. I’ve watched them over the years and seen how they play.

"The club like to play out from the back and play football. That really inspired me to come here, and I think that the head coach can really improve me as a player."

Daniel Farke awaits confirmation over whether Williams can feature against Bournemouth in the EFL Cup, but the Norwich head coach is delighted with the new addition.

"Brandon is a young player full of potential," Farke said on Monday. "He has already proven that he can perform on the top level and that he is capable of playing for Manchester United. He has many good skills and qualities.

"We wanted to bring someone in who was capable of playing in the full-back positions to strengthen our squad.

"Brandon has played a lot at left-back for Manchester United, but we know he is also capable of playing on the right side, too."

Manchester City returned to form in style on Saturday and almost matched a Premier League record in a 5-0 hammering of Norwich City.

It was a typically dominant display from Pep Guardiola's team, who had 16 attempts compared to Norwich's one and had 66.9 per cent of the possession.

Tim Krul's own goal after seven minutes opened the floodgates, before Jack Grealish's inadvertent finish saw the £100million signing open his City account.

Aymeric Laporte made it even more comfortable, before Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez rounded off the victory.

In true Guardiola fashion, City attempted 730 passes, completing 684 of them – an accuracy of 93.7 per cent.

That is the second-highest passing accuracy Opta has on record in a Premier League match since 2003-04, with the highest being 94.2 per cent, set by City in a 4-3 win over Newcastle United in May.

Ruben Dias attempted (114) the most passes, while centre-back partner Laporte completed the most (111).

Gabriel Jesus, who provided two assists, led the way in terms of chances created, with three, while Grealish was tied with Ilkay Gundogan for crosses from open play (four).

The former Aston Villa star attempted 43 passes, completing 41 of them (95.3 per cent), with 40 of those coming in Norwich's half.

City ended a run of three defeats in a row in competitive games without scoring stretching back into last season, and Guardiola said it was just reward for the work his champions have put in.

"This result was the consequence of how many good things we have done," Guardiola said.

"We are still not at the top – there are still many things to do. We trained, we were refreshed and I'm happy for these first points.... hopefully they will not be the last!"

Liverpool went top of the Premier League after a Sadio Mane landmark goal helped the Reds sink Burnley.

The Senegal forward struck for the 50th time at Anfield in the competition, becoming just the fifth Reds star to do so in the Premier League era, as Liverpool swept to a 2-0 win.

Danny Ings joined notable company as he scored a stunning goal in Aston Villa's victory over Newcastle United, while Manchester City hit five goals in a game, which is becoming almost routine for Pep Guardiola's champions.

Using Opta data, we take a look at the key statistics from across four of Saturday's standout fixtures.

Liverpool 2-0 Burnley: Mane joins Salah in Anfield 50-goal club

Mane's clincher against Burnley was his 50th Premier League goal at home for Liverpool. The only players to have achieved that feat previously have been Robbie Fowler (85 goals), Steven Gerrard (69), Michael Owen (63) and Mane's team-mate Mohamed Salah (56).

Given their strong finish last term, Jurgen Klopp's team have won each of their past seven Premier League games now. That is as many victories as they enjoyed in their previous 20 games in the competition (D5 L8) and their longest winning streak in the league since a run of 18 ending in February 2020. Their run of fourth clean sheets in the league is their longest since a run of seven between December 2019 and January 2020.

Trent Alexander-Arnold's assist for Mane was the ninth time he has teed up a goal for the former Southampton man, four more than he has for any other Liverpool player.

Virgil van Dijk made his 48th home Premier League appearance with Liverpool and has lost none of those games (W43 D5), with the team's dip last season coming in his injury-enforced absence. Only Lee Sharpe has played more home games for one club in the competition without losing any of them (59 with Manchester United).

As Liverpool celebrated, Burnley were left to lick their wounds after losing five games in a row in the Premier League for the first time, last doing so in any division in the 2008-09 Championship campaign. The Clarets have lost 11 of their 15 Premier League matches against Liverpool (W2 D2), more defeats than they have suffered against any other side in the competition (losing 10 against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City).

Manchester City 5-0 Norwich City: A first for City, but a familiar outcome

For the first time in Manchester City's 25 Premier League campaigns, their opening goal of the season was an own goal, Tim Krul the unlucky man.

But if that was irregular, the final outcome surely surprised very few as the champions put the promoted Canaries to the sword.

Since Pep Guardiola joined Manchester City ahead of the 2016-17 season, there have been 49 Premier League games won by a margin of five or more goals, and the Catalan's team have been responsible for 23 of these (47 per cent).

City have now won their past four home league games against Norwich by an aggregate score of 19-1 since a 3-2 reverse in May 2013.

Jack Grealish became the first English player to score on his home Premier League debut for City since Frank Lampard netted against Chelsea in September 2014, while there was a collector's item from Aymeric Laporte. The defender scored his ninth goal for City in all competitions, but it was his first to come at the Etihad Stadium.

Norwich have had a brutal start, with a 3-0 home loss to Liverpool followed by the torture of City away. In Premier League history, only Leicester City in 2001-02 (-9) and Wigan Athletic in 2010-11 (-10) have ever had a worse goal difference from their opening two games of a season than Norwich's current -8.

Given their awful finish to the 2019-20 season, Norwich have now lost 12 consecutive Premier League games, the outright second-longest losing streak in the competition’s history, behind only Sunderland’s run of 20 from 2003 to 2005.

Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle United: Diamond Ings shows his class

Former Southampton frontman Ings is looking like a smart signing by Villa already, and his bicycle kick that stunned Newcastle was a special goal.

Going back to last season with Saints, it means he has been directly involved in seven goals in his past eight Premier League starts, scoring six and assisting one. Ings also became just the fourth player to score in his first two Premier League appearances for Villa, after Dalian Atkinson in 1992, Dion Dublin in 1998 and Ross Barkley in 2020.

Villa have not lost in seven top-flight games in a row against Newcastle (W3 D4), doing so for the first time since a run of seven victories between 1955 and 1958.

The Magpies are having a tough time of it again, having lost their first two games of a league campaign for the fourth time in the past six seasons, after winning or drawing at least one of their first two fixtures in each of the 16 campaigns before that.

Their slow starts in the Premier League are becoming habitual and problematic, with Newcastle having won just two of their past 19 Premier League games in August (D6 L11), beating West Ham at home in 2017 and Tottenham away in 2019.

Leeds United 2-2 Everton: Toffees extend Premier League scoreline record

This was Everton's 70th 2-2 draw in Premier League history, and they have contested at least 15 more matches with that outcome than any other side in the competition.

If that was an all too familiar outcome, there was a first occurrence of note for the Toffees, too. Dominic Calvert-Lewin's opener was his 55th goal in all competitions for Everton, but his first scored from the penalty spot for the team who are now bossed by Rafael Benitez.

Demarai Gray scored his first Premier League goal for Everton, becoming the 34th different player to score both for and against the Toffees in the competition. Only West Ham (46), Aston Villa (42) and Liverpool (39) have had more players score for and against them in the competition.

Mateusz Klich and Raphinha earned a point for Leeds. Klich has now scored two goals in his past three Premier League games for Leeds, more than he had in his previous 32 (one). Klich has now scored five Premier League goals in total, as many as all other Polish players in the competition combined.

Since the start of last season, only Patrick Bamford (17 goals, eight assists) has been directly involved in more Premier League goals for Leeds United than Raphinha (seven goals, nine assists).

Pep Guardiola hailed Gabriel Jesus' display in Manchester City's 5-0 win against Norwich City and said he feels fortunate to be able to work with a player as selfless as the Brazilian.

Jesus was brought into City's starting line-up as one of five changes from last weekend's defeat to Tottenham as City produced a five-star showing against Norwich.

The Brazil international was fielded to the right of a front three that also contained Ferran Torres and Jack Grealish in Saturday's Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.

While Jesus did not find the net, he played a game-high three key passes, which included assists for Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling.

He also sent in the ball that led to Grant Hanley and Tim Krul inadvertently combining for City's opener and was heavily praised by Guardiola after the impressive display.

"If one person deserves respect and man of the match prizes then it's him. His mum and dad have to be so proud to have someone like him," Guardiola told BBC Sport.

Speaking at his post-match news conference, the Catalan coach added: "He's a player who likes to be wider than central position.

"One of the reasons I'm a manager is when you can work with people and humans like Gabriel. He never complains, he plays five minutes, he plays the best five minutes he can.

"He's happy on left, right or centre and today the connection with Kyle [Walker] was exceptional. I'm pleased with his performance – he was involved in three of our goals and is an incredibly important player for us.

"He made an exceptional performance today, and I repeat, if he plays three minutes he plays the best three minutes for the club and everyone. The more you have in this position the better we are. When someone plays like this they deserve to play.

"He's so young, big congratulations because he deserves in life the best. He's so generous and as I say, I'm incredibly satisfied for him."

Jesus has experience of playing in a wide role with the Brazil national team, whom he helped reach the final of the Copa America last month.

The 24-year-old was given an extended break following his Copa exploits but took little time to find his groove on his first start of the season, having been introduced as a second-half substitute against Tottenham last week.

"I play more on the right for the national team," Jesus told BBC Sport. "We have a lot of good wingers here and a very good team overall.

"I feel good and I'm getting my confidence and energy back. I like to play all the time, wherever the manager tries to play me, I try to do my best always.

"I was the last one to come back after the holidays. I didn't lose too much power. I'm a little bit lucky that I can come back, train two days or one week and get back my fitness."

Grealish, Aymeric Laporte, Sterling and Riyad Mahrez were all on target for City in their routine victory after Krul had opened the scoring win an early own goal.

Since Guardiola arrived in the Premier League at the start of the 2016-17 season, City have now been responsible for 23 of the 49 games won by a five-goal margin (47 per cent).

It was a timely win for City, ending a run of three defeats in a row in competitive games without scoring stretching back into last season.

"This result was the consequence of how many good things we have done," Guardiola said.

"We are still not at the top – there are still many things to do. We trained, we were refreshed and I'm happy for these first points.... hopefully they will not be the last!"

Grealish's goal was his first for City since arriving in a British record £100million deal from Aston Villa this month on what was his home debut and third appearance overall.

The England international knew little about the goal, with Jesus' powerful cross hitting his thigh before he could react and flying past Krul.

Citing the example of "machine" Sterling, who has built a reputation for being in the right place to finish off moves, Guardiola expects Grealish to become a regular goalscorer.

"If he gets the mentality to score goals like Raheem, yeah [he can score more]," Guardiola said. "When Raheem was here when I first arrived he didn't have goals in his mind and we immediately changed his arrival.

"Today Raheem scored because he arrives in the centre, he's a machine there. He changed his mind and decided he was going to score. Jack has this mentality to score goals and win games. If he has the Raheem mentality then he can do it, too."

Jack Grealish was among the scorers as Manchester City eased past Norwich City 5-0 on Saturday for their first win of the Premier League season.

The reigning champions fell to a 1-0 loss at Tottenham in their opening game but had no trouble in seeing off their newly promoted opponents at the Etihad Stadium.

British record signing Grealish scored in an unconventional manner 22 minutes into his home debut after Tim Krul's unfortunate own goal had given the hosts an early lead.

Aymeric Laporte added to the scoring in the second half and substitutes Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez piled the misery on Norwich, who slipped to a second successive defeat on their return to the top tier.

City had won their previous three home league games against Norwich by an aggregate score of 14-1 and were ahead inside seven minutes of this latest one-sided encounter.

Gabriel Jesus chested down Rodri's diagonal pass and fired a low cross into the six-yard box, Grant Hanley diverting the ball against goalkeeper Krul and into the net.

Ferran Torres was denied a goal by VAR for Bernardo Silva's trip on Milot Rashica in the build-up, but Grealish netted soon after as Jesus' cross hit his thigh and beat Krul.

Having played a part in those opening two goals, Jesus went close to scoring one of his own early in the second half when dragging a shot just wide from range.

City's third did arrive nine minutes later when Laporte stroked home after Norwich failed to deal with a corner and the ball bounced around in the box.

Sterling was next to register with a close-range finish after being teed up by the impressive Jesus, while Mahrez rounded out the scoring late on, brilliantly controlling Ruben Dias' long pass and tucking in off the inside of the post.

Mohamed Salah does not need extra motivation to break records and achieve potential legendary status, according to Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp.

The Reds cruised to a 3-0 victory against Norwich in their Premier League opener on Sunday, Salah scoring one and assisting twice.

His 74th-minute curler marked his fifth consecutive goal on the opening day of a Premier League season, a feat never achieved before.

As Klopp's men prepare for Saturday against Burnley, who ended Liverpool's 68-game unbeaten run at Anfield last term, Salah nears another Premier League milestone.

The Egypt forward has scored 98 goals in 159 Premier League games, with only four players ever reaching 100 in their first 160 matches in the competition – Alan Shearer (124), Harry Kane (141), Sergio Aguero (147) and Thierry Henry (160).

Klopp, though, says his part in motivating Salah to achieve such accolades is limited.

"I don't have to," Klopp responded when asked if he needed to encourage Salah. "He knows that, he is aware of all these things.

"He enjoys the time here. I didn't know when he broke the record last week. When he plays as hard as he does, he comes in situations that he can score.

"He is very hungry for goals. There is no doubt about that. With his quality, he can set records in assists as well.

"I have never told him that he could be the, or one of the biggest Liverpool legends ever. That is nothing you go for. Records, yes, but becoming a legend… it [is for] after your career is over. Hopefully, he can stay like this."

Since Salah's return to the Premier League in June 2017, no Liverpool player has created more chances than his 252, while only Andy Robertson can boast as many as his 35 assists.

In the same time period, no top-flight player can match his 96 goals for the Reds, Tottenham's Harry Kane eight goals behind in second.

Indeed, Salah ran riot at Carrow Road as he was involved in nine of Liverpool's 19 shots against - no player was involved in more of their side's attempts on matchday one.

While the 29-year-old continues to cause chaos on the pitch, there is still speculation off the field with his current contract due to expire in 2023.

Asked if there was any progress with a new deal, Klopp said: "I am involved with pretty much everything in the club. We don't speak about these things.

"From the first day he came back, he has been absolutely great. We are all professionals. There are talks and there are talks.

"When there is a decision, we will tell you. Until then, it is only important how the parts work together. Two years left, you can imagine that there are talks."

Pep Guardiola had no interest in discussing a potential move for Robert Lewandowski as Manchester City still wait to make a striker signing.

Guardiola was speaking at City's news conference ahead of Saturday's game against Norwich City, where he revealed Kevin De Bruyne is a doubt with an ankle issue.

Even without De Bruyne, City should have enough in creative areas against Norwich, having signed Jack Grealish for a British record £100million fee.

But Guardiola's men remain light up front, with Sergio Aguero departing for Barcelona and a move for Harry Kane so far failing to come to fruition.

Reports this week of Lewandowski's unhappiness at Bayern Munich, Guardiola's former club, prompted questions about possible interest.

Lewandowski was at Bayern for just two of Guardiola's three seasons but still trailed only Thomas Muller (79 and 115) for goals (67) and goal involvements (79) during the Catalan coach's tenure.

It might be an effective link-up, but Guardiola does not anticipate Lewandowski heading to the Premier League any time soon.

"Next question," he replied, as the news conference opened on Lewandowski. "Listen, Lewy is a so important player for Bayern Munich. He will stay in Bayern Munich.

"I'm not going to talk to you and your colleagues today, with 11 days left, about the transfer market. I don't know what's going to happen, nobody knows.

"Tomorrow we have a game, prepare the Arsenal game when we finish. When we come back after the international break, we'll have all the squad to fight for every game in the season."

Even if neither Kane nor an alternative like Lewandowski were signed, Guardiola would be "more than happy" with his City squad.

"It's the same team, except Sergio for Jack Grealish, that we had last season," he explained.

Asked about team news for the Norwich game, Guardiola initially said there was "no news, good news" before a specific query about De Bruyne.

"Kevin couldn't train today, so there is news," he said. "He couldn't train today, a little disturbance, so we will see tomorrow if he can play or not."

City lost their season opener 1-0 at Tottenham and only rivals Manchester United (in 1992-93, 1995-96 and 2012-13) have previously won the Premier League title after being beaten in their first match.

The reigning champions have lost their past three games in all competitions 1-0, part of a run of five defeats in seven, as many as in their previous 56 matches.

Were that miserable run to continue against Norwich, though, it would be unprecedented for a Guardiola side, as he has never seen a team lose four in a row or go four without scoring.

City last lost four straight in August 2006 and have not lost four without reply since March 1986.

Guardiola certainly is not worrying yet, adding: "We have 111 points to play, 37 games.

"I cannot deny I would have preferred to have three points, but tomorrow we have the challenge to win the first three.

"We have to win games, of course, if we want to be there close to the top of the league, but it's the second fixture.

"Many games and many things are going to happen this season. What I would like to see is the team getting better."

Liverpool have condemned an "offensive and inappropriate" chant heard during their Premier League win over Norwich City on Saturday.

The homophobic chant, which could clearly be heard on television coverage of the match, appeared to be aimed at Norwich's on-loan Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour.

Liverpool's LGBTQ+ fan group, Kop Outs!, highlighted the issue on social media.

"Great result today marred by homophobic chanting by some of our fans targeting Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour," the group posted.

"If you can't support without resorting to bigoted nonsense, you don't understand YNWA [you'll never walk alone]."

The club have previously criticised airings of the same chant and shared the post.

Liverpool added: "The chant is offensive and inappropriate – a message we have repeatedly communicated alongside Kop Outs. 

"We urge supporters to remember the inclusive values of the club and to refrain from using it in the future."

Capacity crowds returned to Premier League stadiums this week for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Jurgen Klopp conceded his Liverpool players will have to get used to playing in front of crowds again after overseeing an opening 3-0 Premier League win at Norwich City.

Mohamed Salah set a new Premier League record by scoring on a fifth successive opening weekend, having laid on goals for Diogo Jota and substitute Roberto Firmino.

But Klopp felt Liverpool were not at their best before Jota's 26th-minute opener and suggested the capacity Carrow Road crowd was a factor.

"We saw on Sunday and Monday playing against [Athletic] Bilbao and Osasuna, we were sensationally lively from the start," he told Sky Sports, referencing Liverpool's final pre-season friendlies played out in front of fans at Anfield.

"It was not the case today. Let's get used to it. I could see it in the eyes of the players. That's fine for the first game but, of course, we want to start differently.

"And, yes, everybody has to get used to an atmosphere again. Hopefully we have a great atmosphere next Saturday [against Burnley at Anfield] and let's try to use it.

"We scored goals and controlled the game apart from two or three situations.

"It was not perfect, of course, but that's not important. It's important that we get the result and can build on it and work with it. We can work with this performance very well."

Virgil van Dijk came through 90 minutes on his first competitive appearance since last October.

"Top," Klopp said of the Dutch centre-back's display. "After that long time being out, having the pre-season he had and now being back on the pitch… it feels different.

"You could see all his quality, all his class in all moments. It was hard for him to go 90 minutes, maybe he will need a mobile ice bath.

"Kostas [Tsimikas] did really well on his first Premier League start until about 80 minutes when somebody pulled the plug. It was a very professional performance."

There was a clinical edge to Liverpool's play, one exemplified by the prolific Salah.

"They are all in good shape up front, in training they all look really sharp. But Mo is just a good footballer and he loves the competitions," Klopp added.

"As soon as it starts getting competitive again, he goes to the next gear and you saw that today."