- Liverpool came from behind to beat Luton Town 4-1 at Anfield
- The Reds were rampant in the second half after firing blank in the first 45 and conceding
The Liverpool vs Luton fixture played on Wednesday night ended with a 4-1 win for Jurgen Klopp’s side. Chiedozie Ogbene opened the scoring for Luton in the first half before Liverpool hit back in the second half with four goals.
The massive win helped the Reds preserve their unbeaten league record at home this season and also reassert their control on the Premier League title race. Liverpool have moved four points clear on top of the standings following the comeback win at Anfield.
Liverpool vs Luton. Photo/ China Daily.
Virgil van Dijk scored Liverpool’s first goal eleven minutes after the break heading home from a corner. Cody Gakpo then scored 125 second later to complete the comeback at Anfield. But the hosts didn’t stop there as Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliot added goals in the 71st and 90th minute, respectively.
Liverpool have been able to bounce back strongly since losing to Arsenal 3-1 last month, winning three consecutive games. The momentum is now on their side ahead of Sunday’s EFL Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
Liverpool Vs Luton
Jurgen Klopp was forced to trust his depth on Wednesday during the clash against Luton as nine players were unavailable due to injury, including all three of his top scorers this season who are Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota. His side had a starting line-up with an average age of 25 years and 68 days, Liverpool’s youngest since February 2018. On the bench, his options included five players aged 19 or under, including 16-year-old midfielder Trey Nyoni.
Meanwhile, Luton Town boss Rob Edwards made no changes to his team that suffered a 2-1 loss against Manchester United.
The hosts started the Liverpool vs Luton game well, creating several chances in the opening ten minutes. However, they converted none and were made to pay for their missed opportunities in the 12th minute when Chiedozie Ogbene headed into an empty net at the back post. This was after Liverpool’s goalie Caoimhin Kelleher had directed Tahith Chong’s shot into the 26-year-old’s path, who recorded his third league goal of the season.
Liverpool’s first half was uneventful, with Luis Diaz’s missed chances early in the game being the only highlights. But the Reds came back with a winning mentality after the break, and eventually levelled the scores in the 56th minute. It started with Cody Gakpo being denied from a promising position before Van Dijk headed home from the resulting corner.
Conor Bradley almost put the Reds in front shortly afterwards but he was denied by Luton’s Belgian goalie Thomas Kaminski. Bradley’s quick throw second later found Mac Allister in space and the midfielder picked out Gakpo, who nodded in to complete the turnaround.
With the momentum firmly on their side, Liverpool added another goal in the 71st minute to seal the win. It was Diaz who finally converted after missing several chances in the Liverpool vs Luton game.
Both Virgil van Dijk and Luis Diaz scored against Luton on Wednesday night. Photo/ Yardbarker.
Harvey Elliot then marked his 100th appearance for the Reds in the final minute of normal time with a goal after pouncing on a lose ball and beating Kaminski.
Whereas Liverpool are firmly in the race for the Premier League title, Luton Town are relegation candidates. Rob Edwards’ side are third from bottom with 20 points.
“First half performance was good. Second half I thought we saw Anfield and we saw Liverpool at their best – that full-throttle football and real quality as well. Their counter-pressing was brilliant… Huge credit to them for turning the game. Our players deserve a lot of credit because I thought we played well in the first half, but we kept going in the second half and trying to do the right things. We kept stepping forward and didn’t sit back – if we had it could have been more.” Rob Edwards said after the Liverpool vs Luton match, as per Sky Sports.
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