After securing a third place and Champions League game during the last match day last year, Liverpool were looking to take revenge on themselves. That goal was started on Saturday away against Premier League newcomer Norwich.
When the starting elves were released, the Liverpool supporters could rejoice, in addition to the league season being back, that midfielder Virgil van Dijk was present from the start after missing basically the whole of last year’s season with a cruciate ligament injury. Kostas Tsimikas replaced the injured Andy Robertson on the left back and for Norwich, Teemu Pukki was there from the start.
When the match was then blown up, it was more or less Liverpool for the whole penny – and it would not be long before they received a dividend. In the 26th minute of the match, Mohamed Salah found Diogo Jota in Norwich’s penalty area, who with a quick finish made it 1-0 to Liverpool.
Just over 20 minutes into the second half, Liverpool would then expand. After a solo raid from Mané, the Senegalese’s shot was blocked by a Norwich defender. But the return was directed to Salah who then found just replaced Roberto Firmino completely free at the penalty spot which hit 2-0.
After that, it did not even take ten minutes before Mohamed Salah himself made it 3-0. After the Norwich defense cleared a corner, the Egyptian caught the ball in the second wave and placed it deliciously 3-0 to the guests. The goal also made Salah historic. According to Liverpool’s Twitter account, he is now the first player in the Premier League era to score in five straight league premieres.
– Mohamed Salah has trained well, our strikers have looked really sharp. But as soon as the season starts, it will be competition-oriented again and then he (Salah) puts in the next gear, says Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp to Sky Sports.
Salah was then close to scoring one more goal and one more assist, but had to settle for one goal and two assists for the day. Liverpool won the match 3-0 and got a dream start to the season. Norwich, on the other hand, had probably hoped for a different result in their return to the Premier League.
In the next match, Liverpool will face Burnley at home, while Norwich will face Manchester City away.
– It is different when the league starts (compared to pre-season). We had to find ourselves during the match and scored three very nice goals because we forced them. It is a great start, says Klopp to the BBC and continues:
– We were not here to show a very exciting football, but more to come to terms with the new season and we did.
Startelvor:
Norwich: Krul – Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis – Rupp, Gilmour, Lees-Melou – Rashica, Pukki, Cantwell.
Liverpool: Alisson – Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Tsimikas – Oxlade-Chamberlain, Milner, Keita – Salah, Jota, Mané.
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