Liverpool 4 Luton Town 1
Jurgen Klopp’s side entertained Luton Town at Anfield, a game the German manager could have done without as they prepared for the Carabao Cup final. Having lost players to injury at the weekend, he was also without Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah for this match.
The Reds started positively with a fiery atmosphere, like a European night in Liverpool. Luis Diaz had two good chances in the opening few minutes, with the second of them being dragged wide of the goal when he really should have scored.
It looked even worse when you saw the replay from the one angle. The Columbian winger had so much of the goal open in front of him, all he had to do was pass it into the corner. He tried to bend his shot in but it went well wide of the target.
Then Luton Town silenced the home faithful. Chong strode into the box and drilled the ball at Kelleher from a tight angle. The keeper got it all wrong as he tried to block with his feet, the rebound looped up to the back post where Ogbene reacted quickest and headed home.
Credit: @LutonTown
With so many key players out injured this was what the Liverpool fans had feared coming into this game. The elephant in the room was the absence of goalkeeper Alisson, with his understudy showing all too often a gulf in class between the two.
It is always a tricky position to fill, the number two spot in between the sticks as you know you will only play when the other keeper is injured or the odd cup game. The difference in quality is like taking your Bentley in for a service and being given a Ford KA as a courtesy car.
Try as they might, Klopp’s side were struggling to break The Hatters down. The impressive Bradley found Diaz in the box but just as he pulled the trigger, Mengi slid in to block the effort. The hosts were knocking on the door but nobody was home.
Alexis Mac Allister then swung in a corner and Van Dijk lost his marker to meet the cross on the run and power a header past Kaminski to draw his side level. Anfield erupted as they finally got the elusive goal they had been craving all game.
Minutes later, a throw in found Mac Allister wide in the box. He whipped a volley into the mixer and Gakpo headed into the roof of the net to give The Reds the lead. These goals were proving to be like buses for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
At this point in the match it could go one of two ways for the visitors. Sadly for Rob Edwards, they folded more easily than a tent at the end of Glastonbury. Another corner found Van Dijk but his effort was brilliantly saved by a one-handed stop from Kaminski.
Credit: @LFC
As Edwards’ side struggled to clear their lines, Robertson found Diaz and he weaved his way around the defender before slotting his shot into the back of the net. Liverpool fans felt that was the goal to guarantee them the three points.
18-year-old Jayden Danns then turned well to flick a pass on the outside of his foot into Gakpo in the box. The Dutch forward was tackled but it broke to Elliott who bent a shot into the top corner to put the icing on top of the cake for the hosts.
It was Harvey Elliott’s 100th appearance for Jurgen Klopp’s side at the ripe-old age of 20-years-old. It was apt that his goal was Liverpool’s 100th in all competitions this season. They are the first team to do so in Europe’s top five leagues this campaign.
The Reds took all three points and deservedly so. It was a clear message to the rest of the league that even without so many big-hitters, this squad is capable of getting results. They moved four points clear at the top and can now focus on their trip to Wembley.
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