FA Cup: Liverpool beat Norwich City 5-2

• Liverpool’s lengthy goodbye to Jurgen Klopp began with a 5-2 FA Cup fourth-round win against Norwich.
• Klopp’s team will play Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Liverpool’s lengthy goodbye to Jurgen Klopp began with a 5-2 FA Cup fourth-round win against Norwich.

The famous Reds boss, who revealed two days ago that he would be departing the club at the end of the season, saw Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk, and Ryan Gravenberch breach the Canaries’ backline, whose careless play from the back contributed to their defeat.

Ben Gibson’s shoulder and a Carlos Sainz screamer offered David Wagner’s side a glimmer of hope, but Liverpool’s attacking forces outgunned their Championship rivals, and round five will feature either Watford or Southampton, who drew 1-1 at Vicarage Road.

James McConnell, a 19-year-old midfielder, made his debut for the Merseyside giants in the team’s first game following Klopp’s shocking departure announcement. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai were both added to the matchday squad after their injury concerns.

Following an especially passionate performance of You’ll Never Walk Alone that made Klopp grin, Liverpool seized control of the match early on, forcing Norwich back into their defensive third.

The goalless In the fifth minute, Nunez nearly opened his Liverpool account with an instinctive curling strike that brushed the post and bounced away, but Joe Gomez was kept waiting to open his account when his long-range effort flashed wide.

Darwin Nunez celebrates after scoring. Photo/ Liverpool FC

The 16th minute brought the anticipated Liverpool goal, and all the credit went to the 19-year-old McConnell, who found Jones on the move and crossed the ball to the back stick, where his countrymen calmly headed the ball across goal and into the corner.

Six minutes later, however, the Anfield supporters’ joy changed to sorrow when, against the flow of play, Gibson scored the equalizer for Norwich, meeting a corner from Gabriel Sara at the near post and looping the ball beyond Alisson Becker’s reach with the top of his shoulder.

Nevertheless, it took just six more minutes for Liverpool to regain the lead. Conor Bradley started a brilliant move up the field, pulled Kenny McLean out of place, and supplied Nunez, who needed just one touch to expertly hit the bottom corner.

The Norwich team was struggling to play out from the back and was being suffocated by Liverpool’s pressing. Wagner’s team was lucky not to concede two goals in the 31st and 32nd minutes when Cody Gakpo missed a clear opportunity and Grant Hanley made a great save to keep Gravenberch’s strike from sneaking in.

But eight minutes into the second half, Gibson—the goal scorer—went from hero to zero, heading the ball straight into Jota’s path instead of trying to cut out a long pass. The Portuguese striker didn’t even need to take a touch before smashing the ball low into the goal, shattering Norwich’s resistance once more.

Even though the match was all but decided, Klopp decided to use his bench strength, and in the 63rd minute, two Reds substitutes scored the game’s fifth goal when Van Dijk headed an outswinging corner from Szoboszlai into the net.

Liverpool players celebrate after beating Norwich City 5-2. Photo/ The Star

But Norwich were coming down hard, and Sainz, who had been given room to shoot by the back-pedaling Van Dijk, surged infield and rifled a tremendous 20-yard finish beyond Alisson’s reach just moments after a Christian Fassnacht goal was disallowed for offside.

In the 79th minute, Gravenberch and Jota almost doubled the hosts’ advantage, but Norwich goalkeeper George Long made a fantastic double save to prevent it. However, the former would make up for it far into injury time.

Liverpool‘s performance was exceptional, surpassing the four-point mark, as Gravenberch’s header from a few yards out was met with a rebound from Bradley’s cross, putting them in a five-star position.

Klopp’s team will play Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday, while Norwich will have a few days off before playing Coventry City in the Championship match the following Saturday.