Klopp's assessment
“For 60 minutes we were really sharp, we were there, we did what we wanted to do. It was difficult for them in the first 60 minutes but I like what they did after that: staying that cheeky and lively, that’s impressive. And they have a lot of good young players in that squad ... But we should have kept the ball better, but that’s normal when you’re not physically at your best ... The main problem today defensively was the reaction to the second balls.”
On Alisson’s injury: “He thought something hit him in the calf and that’s never a good sign. That probably means it’s a bit more than a strain but we don’t know. So we have a bit of a problem because our No3 keeper (Caoimhin Kelleher) is injured - he’s coming back but he’s not there yet.” That sounds like an opportunity for any out-of-contract keepers out there.
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Farke's verdict
“We are disappointed because we lost. But I’m unbelievably pleased with the character of my team ... to go back and win the second half. But over all we are disappointed we lost. I’m happy with my players’ character and their reaction and we’ll go exactly the same way again in the coming weeks. I want us to be brave and go out and play football with mates: of course we have to be more solid and concentrate more because small details can make a big difference. After a loss you are always in a bad mood but there were positives here.”
Norwich reactions
Pukki: “It was a pretty good second half from us. I think we can take something from that for next week. We were a bit sloppy when they scored but otherwise it was all right.”
Krul: “Unfortunately they were on it from the start and unfortunately we gave them a couple of gifts in the first half but we reacted really well. We were a bit naive in the first, which can happen when you’re a young team. But it was a massive learning curve and I’m proud of how we played in the second. It was a massive learning curve. Everybody walked off thinking ‘you know what, if we believe in what we’re doing, we’re going to be a good side this year for sure’.”
Full-time: Liverpool 4-1 Norwich
The first match of the season ends with the expected result but not necessarily with the obvious conclusions: Liverpool will not be especially pleased with their performance despite the emphatic scoreline, because Norwich practically gave them some of the goals and they themselves looked jittery at the back at times; meanwhile Norwich, while aghast at the defending in the first half, will not be too dispirited by a heavy defeat; they showed they can play and cause problems to top teams and, by the way they improved in the second half, they showed they have heart and are fast learners - they could stay up and they’re sure to entertain this season.
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90+1 min: Godfrey pumps one at goal from over 20 yards. Adrian blocks but can’t hold the low shot, and Hernandez is first to the rebound. But Alexander-Arnold closes him down to prevent him getting off a shot.
90 min: Norwich are determined to finish on the attack. Liverpool’s defenders are finding them very pesky.
88 min: Hernandez and Lewis combine down the left to win a corner. It’s taken short, whereupon Norwich’s play become a bit too convoluted and they wind up giving the ball back to Liverpool by wandering offside.
Liverpool substitution: Milner on, Firmino off. The departing Brazilian gets rapturous acclaim in recognition of a splendid performance. Or were the crowd cheering the streaker who ran across the pitch?
85 min: Alexaner-Arnold curls it around the wall, but straight at the keeper, who pushes it out for a corner.
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84 min: Firmino beats Hanley to the ball on half way, then spins and dashes towards the area. Handley catches up with him at the edge of the box and brings him down. Freekick to Liverpool in a mighty promising position - possibly too close for Alexander-Arnold; my money is on Salah.
Norwich substitution: Drmic on, Pukki off. The Swiss striker comes on for his debut.
80 min: Buendia goes for a goal with a 25 yard freekick. Easy pickings for Adrian.
78 min: Sloppy play between Mané and Firmino in midfield gives Norwich a chance to nick the ball and spring forward, which they do in great numbers. Nothing comes of it but it’s a positive sign for the visitors and further evidence that despite winning this match comfortably, Liverpool have not been especially convincing today.
76 min: Yet more beautiful play by Firmino ‘in the hole’. He then slips in Mane, who pulls a low ball back towards Henderson. Hanley intervenes to put it out for a corner. Salah’s delivery is cleared.
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Liverpool substitution: Mané on, Origi off. Good luck, Norwich.
73 min: Alexander-Arnold has a bang from nearly 30 yards. A pretext, seemingly, for the local boy to offer a ball to a chum in the crowd.
71 min: Salah directs another corner towards Van Dijk but this time Norwich are wise to it and head clear.
69 min: Nice work by Firmino to create a chance for himself, but his blast from 20 yards veers off target.
68 min: It’s surprising that Klopp has not made another substitution yet given the busy schedule Liverpool have. Is he expecting the title to come down to goal difference?
Norwich substitution: Hernandez on, Trybull off.
67 min: Norwich are preparing to introduce Onel Hernandez, who’s a delightfully tricky and powerful wideman. “We’re better than Barcelona,” chirps Paul Bradford after Norwich cut the deficit to 4-1 (and no, to those asking, I did not put money on that scoreline despite predicting it before kickoff).
65 min: Norwich have a spring in their step and are playing as if they know they could score more. And they’re right: they can create chances and Liverpool have been iffy at the back.
GOAL! Liverpool 4-1 Norwich (Pukki 63)
Buendia spots a smart run by Pukki and provides a dainty through-ball. The Finn produces a perfect finish, denying Adrian a clean sheet and restoring some dignity for Norwich.
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63 min: That’s more like it from Leitner. He lets fly with a fierce striker from 15 yards, from a difficult angle, forcing Adrian to tip it over.
61 min: Leitner’s first involvement is a frustrated late trip on Henderson for which he’s booked. Not the impact he was hoping for.
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60 min: Krul tells his players to push forward so he can send a goal kick long. That’s sensible given how often they have been dispossessed while trying to play out from the back
Norwich substitution: Leitner on, Stierpemann off.
58 min: Robertson takes a dropping ball nicely and then fires a 20-yards shot wide of the far post.
56 min: Firmino has again been excellent today, so creative, clever and unselfish. You’d like to see him score as a reward for all the great work he does. You can say that after nearly every match he plays.
55 min: Fabinho tries to sidefoot one into the bottom corner from 25 yards. Krul fumbles it but recovers in time to stop Henderson from prodding in the rebound.
53 min: Salah, darting into the right-hand side of the area, tries to use the last defender as a guide around which he could bend the ball into the far corner. IT’s a good effort but misses the target by a yard.
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52 min: Van Dijk spanks a superb diagonal pass forward to Alexander-Arnold, who skips into the box and wins a corner. He takes it himself, and wastes it.
49 min: Buends flights over a clever inswinging freekick from the left. Norwich runners break the offside trap but can’t get a good touch on the ball.
48 min: Origi flies down the left and delivers low cross into the area. Firmino sells as beautiful dummy to to let the ball run into the path of Henderson, who shoots firs time from 15 yards. Krul pushes it on to the bar! Liverpool quickly regain possession. Alexander-Arnold sends a low cross to the back post, where Firmino gets it under control but takes an age to turn and then shovels an awkward shot wide from four yards!
46 min: Technological glitch sorted, the second half finally gets underway. Now have Norwich resolved the communication problems in their defence?
There’s a slight delay to the start of the second half because the one of the officials has a problem with his earpiece. The players amuse themselves by knocking balls around among themselves while the officials try to find some replacement kit. Some fans are booking. Jimmy Hill would have sorted this out by now.
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Half-time: Liverpool 4-0 Norwich
Fabinho clatters into Henderson as both challenge for the ball in midfield. Henderson is hurt and may need some magic sponge action at half-time. Other than that and Allison’s injury, this has been an ideal start to the campaign for Liverpool. They were allowed to ease into the game, getting away with some sluggishness thanks to bad Norwich finishing and even worse Norwich defending. As the half wore on, Liverpool found a groove and threatened to crush the visitors. Farke’s team have been dangerous in patches - and Liverpool a tad brittle at the back - but the visitors played right into Liverpool’s hands in others: they’ve suggest they can score, but tightening up needs to be their priority for the second half. David Seare [19.38] is a seer.
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45+2 min: Aarons hurls himself bravely in front of a shot by Firmino. Norwich will make it to the interval only four down. “Wow, and this is without Luis Suarez,” chuckles Matt Dony.
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45 min: Alexander-Arnold curls in another dangerous cross. This time there is a defender close enough to the forward - Firmino - to make the header difficult. No goal.
43 min: A gorgeous backheeled pass from Firmino is the highlight of another flowing Liverpool move. They’re having fun now. ““In Brisbane, Australia, I got up at 4:45am to ride into town to watch the game at the pub (Yes, there’s a bar that’s open at all hours for this kind of thing),” says Murray Henman. “Only I went down to the garage to find my bike had been nicked. At least Liverpool are winning.” Sorry to hear that, Murray. I’d like to think it was just a buddy who took your bike to stop you from cycling back from the pub drunk?
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GOAL! Liverpool 4-0 Norwich (Origi 41)
It’s lovely cross from Alexander-Arnold but hapless defending from Norwich to leave Origi free 12 yards out. The Belgian takes full advantage, heading into the net.
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Liverpool substitution: Allison can’t continue. On comes Adrian for his first appearance, just days after joining the club. Allison looks miffed and walks off with a slight limp. It looks like this might be an injury that keeps him out for at least a little while or maybe it’s just a case of taking no risks because Liverpool are 3-0 up.
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36 min: Allison seems to have hurt himself by while slipping after kicking the ball out. He needs treatment. Might we be about to see an early debut for Adrian?
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35 min: Pukki skitters down the left, showing impressive pace to win a corner off Alexander-Arnold. Trybull’s gets his head to the incoming corner but nods a yarad wide.
33 min: Norwich are reeling and Liverpool are starting to make merry. Half-time is a long way away: the contest is over but Norwich’s pain could yet deepen. On the other hand, if they cane find a way to at least reverse the flow of play for the rest of this game, they’ll have a positive to take into the rest of the season...
31 min: Alexander-Arnold pings a cross in from the right. Firmino takes it beautifully on his chest, sending it upwards to give himself time to adjust his feet for a spectacular volley from 16 yards. Krul bats away a brilliant effort!
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GOAL! Liverpool 3-0 Norwich (Van Dijk 28)
Robertson’s cross is deflected out for a corner. Salah delivers a perfect centre and Van Dijk plants a downward header into the net from seven yards while holding off Lewis. Without playing particularly well, Liverpool are running away with this.
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26 min: Stieperman cracks off a decent shot at last, after a lovely flowing ove by Norwich. Allison makes a competent save to push away the German’s swirling shot from 18 yards.
25 min: Buendia, as expected, is involved in everything inventive that Norwich are doing. Their fullbacks are in the thick of it, too. They are going to score a lot this season. And concede a lot. “Oh gods, so the first goal of the new season is an own goal?” blurts Bob O’Hara. “Even our footballers are doing political satire now #brexit”
23 min: That’s better from Norwich. Buendia slips a cute pass through to Pukki. Allison charges out to make a save ... and oh, Pukki was offside anyway, by maybe a millimetre. But there’s no doubt they carry a threat so Liverpool can’t nod off just yet.
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21 min: Liverpool have their danders up now. Norwich need to find a way to stemming the flow or this could get ugly for them.
GOAL! LIverpool 2-0 Norwich (Salah 19)
Thats more like it from Salah! He pounced on a loose ball after Alexander-Arnold lost it, then, with the help of a little deflection, he exchanged a nifty one-two with Firmino before sliding it past the advancing Krul and into the far corner from six yards.
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17 min: Salah robs the ball off a Norwich defender and then races into the area. He has Firmino appealing for a pass in the middle but he ignores that fact and instead tries to wriggle into a shooting position, but he’s foiled by two defenders. There’s a fine line between self-confidence and selfishness.
16 min: Robertson has a bash from 20 yards. Krul parries.
15 min: More nice play by the visitors! Twice they open Liverpool up but twice Pukki is unable to finish. First his hesitancy enable Van Dijk to get back and block, then he fired wide from a difficult angle.
14 min: Origi hurtles down the left and pings over a dangerous cross. No one manages to get on the end of it but they Firmino and Salah came close enough to elicit ‘oooh’ from the crowd.
13 min: Norwich pass the ball and make triangles all over the pitch. It’s scruffiness at the extremities that’s cost them so far.
11 min: The Anfield crowd are in full voice but their team is not yet truly on song even though they’re got the lead. But Robertson is starting to make dangerous runs down the left...
9 min: Norwich pounce on sloppiness by Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho. They tear forward rapidly and again work the ball to Stieperman about 16 yards out .... and again he sends his shot skywards!
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Norwich (Hanley 7')
What a blow for Norwich! Robertson released Origi down the left. Origi fired in a fairly innocuous low cross that Hanley seemed certain to clear. But he got himself in a muddle and shanked it backwards into his own net from six yards instead! Let’s hope that hasn’t set the tone for their season. It’s certainly put them in the much in this match.
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5 min: A slack pass from Allison - not entirely uncharacteristically - gives Pukki the chance to nick possession. He pulls it back from the byline to Stieperman, who leans back and lifts the ball high over the bar from 16 yards while under pressure. A let-off for Liverpool.
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3 min: Salah pesters Godfrey into conceding a corner. Alexander-Arnold’s delivery is uncharacteristically shoddy, allowing Norwich to clear.
1 min: Norwich get the 2019-20 Premier League season under way. It’s all uphill from here. They negotiate the first minute well - it’s 44 seconds before Liverpool get a touch. And then comes a poor one from Origi. “In response to Marie Meyer - Yes, I used to be fun at parties, but not any more,” admits David Seare. “These days I simply remember the old days and warn young people off my garden. Their music has no words I understand and the tunes mean nothing to me. On the other hand, tonight’s game is such a mis-match that even the most committed of Tweeters can’t see the Canaries anywhere than down a mine with no air. I’m off now to prune something and chunter about the value of a solid forward defensive.”
The Anfield crowd croon happily along to You’ll Never Walk Alone. Kickoff is imminent ...
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“First time caller, long time listener,” begins Michael Coppejans. “ Rocking out here in Finland where a Pukki party is underway (literally there is an official gathering with the Finnish Football Association bigwigs involved). First Finn playing in the Prem since Hyypiä is a big deal here. Pukki’s had a great year in the national team as well and I wouldn’t be surprised if he poaches a goal tonight. However, LFC at Anfield can’t be taken lightly either and expect them to triumph in the end. That being said the game will at least be more exciting then the Champions League final, right?” Yes please!
“This match ‘undermines sports as an idea’ - really!?” gasps Mary waltz. “For generations in all sports, underdogs have played heavily favoured teams. Are upsets rare? Of course, that’s what makes them so special.”
“Tucker Jenkins in Krull is nothing compared with Peter Duncan popping up in Flash Gordan,” booms Emlyn Hatch. All this talk of unlikely heroes keeps bring us us back to Origi, doesn’t it?
“I’d like to start with the obligatory ‘I bet David Seare is fun at parties’ before moving swiftly on to the observation that if people were interested in every contest being 50:50, televised coin-flipping would be a thing,” chimes in Marie Meyer. “Always held at neutral venues, naturally.” Come on You Heads!
“Cautious optimism from me,” whispers Simon Cordery. “Despite Klopp’s brave words about not taking the Canaries lightly, his players will (you did). Norwich have everything to prove, especially that they are not immediately destined to return to the Championship. Final score 2 - 2, a moral victory for East Anglia and a dent in the Reds’ title hopes.” That’s the spirit, Simon. Except I’m not taking Norwich lightly - I fully recognise their qualities, but I also see their vulnerabilities, especially at the back. Controversially, I think Liverpool are better than them.
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“I’m excited to watch Teemu Pukki,” discloses Steve Forstneger. “First, one of my favorite all-time hockey players was Teemu ‘The Finnish Flash’ Selanne, as speedy on the ice as he was in his collection of exotic cars. Secondly, I recently enjoyed the Finnish comedy HeavyTrip, about a death metal band’s perilous trek to play a festival in Norway. Anyway: Origi hat trick.” Don’t quite follow your workings there, Steve, but enjoyed them, all the same. However, much as I admire Origi, I do think Liverpool may rue not recruiting another, better forward. And, ideally, a creative midfielder.
“Good luck for the season, Paul,” begins David Seare before getting down to brass tacks: “This is the kind of game that undermines sport as an idea. 22 players take the field today knowing who will win. It isn’t sport, it’s complicated advertising. On the upside my local radio station has enabled a cheap pizza to be coming my way. I used to love football.” Anyone out there see Norwich proving him wrong? My head says a 4-1 home win.
Brendan wants to defend the film Krull, sort of [see 19.24]. “Bernard Breslaw as a vengeful cyclops and Tucker Jenkins as a supporting hero? Whatever imagination they had went on to that casting,” he notes.
“I have this almanac software on my computer that says this is day 121 of the year,” announces Marcus. “Now I happen to know that ‘u’ is the 21st letter in the alphabet. So that makes this day AU, since A is the first. So my question is who will get AU today? AU is of course gold in the periodic table symbols.” You’ve got it all wrong, Marcus: you could do sincere 1-2-1 chat, but not with me. And you also need an almanac that can count.
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“Is that Krul in Norwich’s goal the same Krul that used to be at Newcastle?” asks Pearson. “Whenever I see that name, I am reminded of a poor mid 80s science fantasy movie by the same name.” It is the very same Tim Krul, Pearson, and he’s a weak link, if you want my opinion. Oh, and the movie was called Krull, which was the name of a planet invaded by a ferocious beast called ... Beast. Not all science fiction movies are triumphs of the imagination.
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Farke speaks
I’d hate to be Daniel Farke’s secretary: he fires out words at a speed that could melt fingers. This is more or less what he said: he began by addressing the point that his side were the top scorers away from home last in all four divisions “That doesn’t count any more. This is a new challenge for us, one of the places you can go. Liverpool are one of the top teams in the world, if not the best.” Asked whether it is a gamble to come and attack Liverpool, he says they couldn’t do it any other way even if they wanted to, because they don’t have the players to play differently. “It’s not a gamble, there is no other option for us. We are still paying for some of the sins of our past so we were not able to spend unbelievable amount of money over the summer. So let’s see what we can do. We have to get a lot of topics right. We can’t just park the bus .. we need many periods in the game where we have possession and we have to be very precise in our pressing.”
Klopp speaks
“We should be ready but we have to prove that,” he announces before responding to a question about why Liverpool didn’t reinforce during the summer. “We were looking for one or two things and it didn’t work out but there’s no panic about that. If we don’t find the right one, we don’t do it.” As for the threat posed by Norwich, he’s sure not playing it down: “Norwich deserve all our respect because how they got promotion last season was exceptional. They are a special team.”
Teams
It’s the same lineup that started the Community Shield, with Sadio Mané deemed only sharp enough for the bench. Norwich, meanwhile, do not include any of their summer signings, they’ll be looking to the slinky Emi Buendia to pull strings for them in midfield.
Liverpool: Allison; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Origi
Subs: Adrian, Milner, Matip, Keita, Mané, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shaqiri
Norwich: Krul; Aarons, Hanley, Godfrey, Lewis; McLean, Trybull, Buendia, Stiepermann, Cantwell; Pukki
Subs: Fahrmann, Byram, Roberts, Vranjcic, Leitner, Hernandez, Drmic
Referee: M Oliver & VAR
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Preamble
To quote Alice Cooper: ♪♫ hello, hurray, let the show begin!♪♫ The Premier League is back, baby, and it’s kicking off with a doozy of a duel. Liverpool, acclaimed runners-up last season, start their attempt to climb one place higher by facing a side they did not have to play last term – because Norwich, of course, were busy romping away with the Championship. Both clubs are so convinced in their men and methods that neither did much to revamp personnel over the summer; Norwich made a few canny additions while Liverpool did nothing other than bring in Adrian as backup goalkeeper. Let’s see how that pans out for them.
The prognosis for this match is for a high-energy thriller. Norwich averaged more than two goals a game last season and, although they are unlikely to be reckless enough to charge out all guns blazing at Anfield, we can certainly expect them to try to mount regular attacks. They have the wherewithal to bother Liverpool. But can Teemu Pukki possibly score as prolifically as he did last season? And, bearing in mind how sharp Jurgen Klopp’s team already looked in the second half of last weekend’s Community Shield, is Norwich’s defence capable of stopping Liverpool from tearing them to shreds? This has got goals written all over it. Let’s be having you!
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