A heavily rotated Liverpool side avoided an upset as they came from behind to earn a 3-1 Premier League victory at home to relegation-battling Norwich City on Saturday afternoon.
Jurgen Klopp made seven changes to the side that defeated Inter 2-0 in the Champions League three days earlier.
Norwich – with just one alteration to the lineup that were swept aside by Manchester City last week – flew out of the blocks; targeting the yawning chasms behind Liverpool’s famously high, but thoroughly well-drilled, backline (just as Klopp had warned pre-game).
However, Liverpool’s new-look lineup was still laced with the attacking fluency that has earned the team a division-high goal tally. Kostas Tsimikas missed a glaring opportunity in the opening five minutes while Mohamed Salah had a header cleared off the line in a first half which saw the hosts rack up 15 shots to two.
Despite their dwarfed chance tally, Norwich did squandered one of the first half’s clearest sights of goal. Teemu Pukki dragging an effort wide with Liverpool disorganised at the second phase of a set piece.
Three minutes after the interval Liverpool looked to have recovered their shape from an open play transition, However, Milot Rashica – denied in the first half by an offside flag – broke the deadlock with a wickedly deflected effort.
Klopp deconstructed his entirely changed midfield to pile even more pressure on their punchy opponents shortly after the hour mark, tossing on Divock Origi as a fourth forward.
Yet it was the familiar duo of Sadio Mane and Salah that swung the game emphatically back in Liverpool’s favour with a pair of goals in 155 seconds. Mane acrobatically converted a 64th-minute equaliser moments before Salah latched onto Alisson’s sharp-witted punt forward.
Teasing Norwich’s scampering defenders, as he had done all afternoon, Salah took his time before rolling Liverpool ahead for the first time.
Luis Diaz, shifted into a more central position for the final half-hour, sealed Liverpool’s eighth consecutive victory across all competitions. Picked out by Jordan Henderson’s scalpel through ball, the winter arrival dinked in his first goal for the club within the final ten minutes.
