Liverpool give Klopp what he wanted on night of anxiety, anger and no excuses
Just when it looked like title-race tension was threatening to trip up Liverpool, a double Dutch turnaround in 125 seconds helped extend their lead at the top of the table.
Anfield was a box of nerves for 45 minutes. The hosts were goal down to Luton and fans fearing the worst. Had they never been here before?
The moans and groans soon turned to roars and cheers in a four-goal rampage in the second half. Jurgen Klopp wanted it to be like a European night under the lights. Maybe he wasn't meaning the need for a comeback but he got it even if it was against relegation battlers and not a European giant.
Captain Virgil van Dijk was first to cancel out Chiedozie Ogbene’s early opener as he showed his leadership to power in a 56th-minute header Then compatriot Cody Gakpo headed home soon after to dissolve the anxiety and turn it to ecstasy. Luis Diaz secured the three points with the third. All within 15 minutes that had the stadium rocking.
Harvey Elliott, on his 100th appearance, got the goal his perseverance deserved late on to make it 100 goals this season for the rampant Reds. What was all that worry about?
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Klopp’s side are now four points clear at the top of the table. They’ve played a game more than Manchester City and Arsenal but they’ve put down another marker of 60 points with 12 more stops on the road to May 19.
Klopp said beforehand he didn’t want excuses about the injuries. But what he got in the first half was a nervy Anfield from the off.
Klopp wasn't happy with the reaction to one errant Elliott pass (PA)No early goal for the hosts soon turned to groans. They were amplified when Ogbene put Luton into a shock lead in the 13th minute. Caoimhin Kelleher, in for the injured Alisson, didn’t deal with a Tahith Chong shot well and his fellow Corkman Obgene pounced to head home his fourth of the season.
The half progressed and the tension grew. Klopp grew angry at the Main Stand for showing their displeasure at a Harvey Elliott misplaced pass. It felt like the dying moments of a game in May and not the first-half of a February clash with plenty of time for the home side to reverse the score.
Maybe it was the absence of stars like Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold among the 11 first-teamers absent which amplified the tension. Still if Diaz had done better when he latched on to Wataru Endo’s ball over the top or from outside of the box moments later then the mood would have been different.
Virgil van Dijk powered in a header to make it 1-1 (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Cody Gakpo scores for Liverpool against Luton (Getty Images)There was a chaotic start to the second half but it helped lift the crowd as Diaz tried tirelessly to pick apart Rob Edwards’ well-drilled side. Gakpo forced Thomas Kaminski into a fine save at this near post but the equaliser came from the resulting corner.
Alexis Mac Allister delivered and the Dutch captain coasted through the area to meet it.
Then a quick throw from Conor Bradley gave Mac Allister another crossing chance and this time Gakpo headed home.
Diaz got the third in the 71st minute as he put his earlier missed chances behind him to get his 10th of the season. He’s the fifth Reds player to score 10 or more so far this season after Salah, Jota, Nunez and Gakpo. With three of those doubts for Sunday’s League Cup final then he may be needed to step up again.
Elliott fired into the top corner in the final minute to make it a rout as an exhausted Luton couldn’t deny him.
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