Jürgen Klopp had a “enjoyable afternoon” as Liverpool beat Norwich City 5-2 at Anfield in the Emirates FA Cup fourth round.
Curtis Jones scored the first of the afternoon, before Darwin Nunez made it 2-0, while Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch rounded it up in the second half to make it 5-2. With the win the Merseyside has also secured the next round in a home tie versus Southampton or Watford.
Naturally, this is the Reds’ first game following Klopp’s statement that he would leave the team at the end of the season which also saw the return of injured players Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, and Dominik Szoboszlai in the second half.
Klopp reveals reaction to his decision to leave Liverpool
Regarding his team’s professionalism in light of the situation following Friday’s statement regarding his future.
“Top, a top performance from everybody involved. Really good. I liked the game. It’s a difficult game, you play against an opponent [that is] obviously going for counter-attacks, that’s absolutely fine, 4-5-1, so we have to get used to it on all accounts.”
“We could have – and we told the boys in half-time anyway – passed with a bit more purpose, a bit more direction, quicker in moments, but it’s difficult. I saw one or two diagonals that we tried which were good but then in the wind didn’t, arrive and then we didn’t do it anymore. That makes not-too-much sense. We scored anyway two goals, two wonderful goals, we conceded a set-piece goal which was well executed – we could have done better in that situation for sure anyhow”.
“And then second half it’s clear, when you are as dominant as we are, it’s clear that if you keep being dominant and improve in some departments you will create more chances. Diogo’s was the third goal, right? This wonderful half-volley, that was the direction you needed. It was a difficult ball for the defender to defend, I would say, and then we could score from there. And then another screamer from Norwich and we could finish the game off, all good. Could bring the boys back, could give them minutes, which is very helpful, the kids showed up [and] were involved in four out of the five goals, that’s great. So, actually, nothing really to complain [about]”.
Liverpool will be aiming to continue their strong form and remain top of the league when they take on Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday.
