Crystal Palace 2 Liverpool 4: Defensive mistakes fail to halt Liverpool progress

Resilience is obviously a key component for any team competing for the Premier League title and as the manager mentioned in his post-match press conference we also have character.

Selhurst Park is a tough hunting ground for Liverpool Football Club with the ghost of the infamous night on Tuesday 6 May 2014 still fresh in the mind.

Pliability and fortitude may be bywords of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, but continual defensive mistakes are making the job doubly difficult.  Today’s match was a point in kind.  Coasting for most of the game, but two lapses in concentration meant having to go through the gears.  A clean sheet would have seen us equal Manchester City’s goal difference at the top.

The win was essential and the fact that three of the four goals were not scored by the usual suspects can only do good going forward.

But to my mind the jury is still out on Dejan Lovren who is still prone to making basic mistakes.  His ineffective back pass for the first and being outjumped by James McArthur for Palace’s second was more than a little disappointing coming at times when we in full control.  As I said in my last blog, the continued obdurateness of Klopp towards Sakho seems bizarre as game on game the recurrent incessant nature of these defensive mistakes shows no sign of abating.

That said, we were good.  At times Palace struggled to live with intricacy and speed of thought of Liverpool’s dynamic front three with Lallana in the mix.  It’s not just the interaction of the Lallana, Mane, Coutinho and Firmino.

The fact is all four have an unpredictability and brilliance to their game which makes it difficult defend against counter-balanced with their willingness to work hard and press with Philippe Coutinho as the standout special talent.

A word for Emre Can who continually used his physicality to drive his team forward and his endeavour was well rewarded with his first goal of the season.   Alberto Moreno fully involved in the goal, passed inside to Henderson, before fastening on to sumptuous dinked pass from Coutinho to control volley across the six-yard box for the arriving Can to nick in and dispatch with a poke of his left foot which took a slight deflection.

The disparate nature of Palace’s equaliser points the finger to the lack of concentration.  Lovren appeared overly relaxed in miscuing his pass back, only scooping the ball up on a platter for James McArthur to tuck away with relish an unexpected starter.

Liverpool were soon back in the lead.  Once again Coutinho was integral, finding Lovren with an expertly delivered corner allowing the Croatian to atone for his earlier by powering his header past keeper Steve Mandanda.

The great work was undone by inept defending when Lovren barely getting off the ground was beaten hands down by James McArthur hurtling on to a Zaha cross with Moreno having stood off allowing the wide man time and space to pick out his target.

Four goals in just over half hour. It was crazy, the atmosphere electric as one always expects at Palace was buzzing with the beat of the drums and home fans singing The Dave Clark Fives’ Glad All Over.  In amongst it all Liverpool fans belted out support as resolute as ever.  They were soon to be rewarded with yet another goal.

Liverpool deserved to be well clear rampaging in the last third as chances went a begging.  Both Moreno and Coutinho saw efforts hit the post and Mane blazed over when from range.   It had to come and it did just before half-time with Matip burying his header in emphatic fashion from Coutinho’s cross.  His header bursting through the hands of the powerless Mandanda.

We are playing a fantastic brand of attacking football, but the inability to defend makes it difficult to watch, moreover away from home with the home team galvanised by our mistakes and home support.

A chance was always going to come the way of Christian Benteke in his first game against his former club and early in the second-half he swivelled on a Scott Dann knock down shooting low and hard to Karius left, who was equal to the task.

Liverpool were as potent as ever with Coutinho at the fore and he once again posted an imperious through into the stride path of Mane striding away.  The Senegalese shot was saved well by low down by Mandanda improvising with his legs before Lallana’s shot drifted wide.

Benteke looking dangerous even with relatively sparse service, headed into the path of Cabaye only for the ex-PSG midfielder’s shot to be well saved again by Karius.

Crystal Palace encouraged by increased possession were disappointed by a succession of penalty appeals.   Palace buoyed by a better second-half was soon to see any hope snuffed out by a signature Liverpool goal.

Jordan Henderson not having one of his most influential afternoons, suddenly sprung to life with a wonderful through ball to Firmino who almost arrogantly chipped over the onrushing Mandanda to finally kill off any remaining hopes of the home side.

Man of the match: Philippe Coutinho – Has undoubtedly taken on the mantle as Liverpool’s premier player from Steven Gerrard.  With Emre Can now up to speed following his ankle injury driving on from midfield, Coutinho is the mastermind creating, probing and delivering.  He was directly involved in three of the goals, providing assists for two and could quite easily have had at least two goals himself.  We could well be seeing his accession from world class talent to world class footballer.

Liverpool were delicious in attack and the four could have been eight.  Mane should have had two and as already been said so could Coutinho and a rasping drive from Moreno smashed off the outside of the post.

To come away from Selhurst Park with a win is a big positive in what was perceived to be a tough challenge and Liverpool will be embarking on the next three matches hoping to accentuate the positives.

Our shortcomings continue to be in defence and while we are scoring three or four invariably we will win.  But, continued mistakes could hit confidence, particularly if we throw away leads and eventually matches.  Lovren was extremely poor and while his back pass smacked of a lackadaisical approach, the second goal was more of a worry with McArthur stealing in ahead of him and Moreno standing off Zaha and allowing him the time and space to deliver his cross.

Jürgen Klopp is full aware of our problems in defence and up until now has not been able to find an answer.  With Lucas and Klavan picked in the EFL cup tie in the week against Spurs it suggests Lovren is Matip’s partner come what may.

Teams:

Crystal Palace: 30 Steve Mandanda, 2 Joel Ward, 6 Scott Dann, 5 James Tomkins, 34 Martin Kelly, 7 Yohan Cabaye, 16 Joe Ledley (Jason Puncheon – 74 mins), 11 Wilfried Zaha, 18 James McArthur (Fraizer Campbell – 86 mins), 14 Chung-Yong Lee (Andros Townsend – 66 mins), 17 Christian Benteke

Subs: 4 Mattieu Flamini, 9 Fraizer Campbell, 10 Andros Townsend, 13 Wayne Hennessey, 27 Damien Delaney, 42 Jason Puncheon

Liverpool: 1 Loris Karius, 2 Nathaniel Clyne, 32 Joel Matip, 6 Dejan Lovren, 18 Alberto Moreno, 20 Adam Lallana (Georginio Wijnaldum – 76 mins), 14 Jordan Henderson, 23 Emre Can, 19 Sadio Mane (Ragnar Klavan – 90+2 mins), 11 Roberto Firminio, 10 Philippe Coutinho – 89 mins)

Subs: 5 Georginio Wijnaldum, 15 Daniel Sturridge, 17 Ragmar Klavan, 21 Lucas, 22 Simon Mignolet, 27 Divock Origi, 56 Connor Randall

Referee: Andre Marriner

Attendance: 25,628

EFL Cup – Liverpool 2 Tottenham 1 – Sturridge at the double

Blog by dedlfc (David Douglas)

After a hectic and at times sloppy game our young Liverpool side finally overcame an even younger Spurs side to knock them out of the EFL cup.

Klopp went into the game swapping the entire eleven from the weekend’s win over West Brom. Simon Mignolet was reinstated between the sticks, while a senior debut was handed to right back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who lined up alongside Lucas Leiva, Ragnar Klavan and Alberto Moreno in the backline. A midfield diamond featured Kevin Stewart as the anchor, Georginio Wijnaldum and Ovie Ejaria as the workers, and Marko Grujic as the attacking midfield focal point. Divock Origi partnered Daniel Sturridge up front.

The early proceedings went back and forth with both sides trying to establish midfield control, a four-on-four counter attack by us fizzed out at Sturridge's feet, and a second break lead to a Stewart shot well over. Third time lucky, however, and the high press forced a mistake from Georges N'Koudou. Grujic snapped the ball and his attempted shot turned into a low cross and assist for a predatory Sturridge, who snuck in front of a tentative Michel Vorm to poke the ball home with his weaker right foot.

Minutes later, Sturridge had an excellent swerving effort from twenty yards fisted over, before a driving run and poked pass from Origi set Sturridge up all alone with the Spurs keeper, but this time, his right-footed effort was much too weak and easily collected – it was definitely evidence that he is lethal on his left foot not so lethal on his right foot.

On twenty minutes, Vincent Janssen headed over from a Spurs set piece, as the game became more and more jumbled. Alexander-Arnold was rightly booked for a late and rash challenge halfway through the frame, and a clash of heads saw Grujic and Cameron Carter-Vickers walked off the pitch and subjected to a concussion protocol, which they evidently passed. A Mignolet save from a Janssen shot on the half hour and a left-footed effort hooked wide by Grujic ten minutes later was all the half had left to offer.

Half time analysis

Felt that despite Spurs seemingly having better control in midfield they lacked the penetration, we were more of a threat in the attacking areas with Sturridge being the focal point of all our best chances. We should maybe be more than one goal up at this point.

After a cautious opening to the second half, the Reds took command of proceedings. A glorious through ball from Lucas released Origi down the right channel, and the Belgian's inch-perfect cross was delivered at Sturridge's feet five yards out. With the goal gaping, the England man was unable to muster a finish, bouncing the ball off his plant leg, his right foot again letting him down when he needed it. Minutes later, Wijnaldum found that man Sturridge again, but the latter was unable to reach the ball after a filthy first-touch nutmeg on Carter-Vickers, largely due to the defender impeding his passage.

The Liverpool dominance continued, and a Sturridge cutback was cut out inches from an eager and highly impressive Wijnaldum before the Dutchman could take his shot. Origi delivered a raking strike at the top corner from 20-odd yards, but Vorm narrowly touched it over the bar. A goal was in the air, and it came on sixty-four minutes. Origi held the ball up and laid it back for Wijnaldum, who with his first touch played a perfect through ball into a streaking Sturridge. This time there was no mistake, and the ball was coolly rolled under Vorm in the Spurs goal admittedly with Sturridge’s stronger left foot and it was great to see Sturridge’s famous goal celebration back and the other players’ faces looking delighted for him getting the goal.

Subs were made soon after, as Nathaniel Clyne came on for Alexander-Arnold, and a great reception from the fans for Danny Ings who got his third appearance under Klopp, replacing Origi. Ings was immediately played in by Daniel Sturridge, but took his first touch in the wrong direction and the chance petered out. Wijnaldum tossed his name in the free-kick hat soon after, as he stung Vorm's gloves with a dipping effort from 20 yards out.

Fifteen minutes from time, the visitors were handed a lifeline as per usual with our team, and it was Lucas and the referee who conspired to make it happen. The Brazilian midfielder-cum-defender had Erik Lamela facing the wrong way at the edge of the area, but insisted on poking at least five times at the Argentinian's ankles. Lamela went down to the mosquito bites and was handed the most softest of penalties. Janssen converted from the spot, and Tottenham were suddenly back in the game.

The match, which had been chaotic before, now turned frantic, and dangerous situations occurred on both ends of the pitch on nearly every possession. Lamela appealed for another penalty. Sturridge had a deflected shot off the bar. Mignolet saved and held a Wanyama effort from a narrow angle, before smothering the ball at the feet of young striker Shayon Harrison. Daniel Sturridge had a shot saved at the near post. Danny Ings hammered a volley off the hands of Vorm when clean through on goal.

No-one found themselves quite able to bury their chance, however, and Liverpool took home a deserved win in the end.

End of match analysis

Similar to the teams' meeting at White Hart Lane two months ago, the game was a seesaw affair in which the Reds edged play and chances by enough to deserve a win, without utterly dominating their opponent. A twenty-minute spell of superiority to start the second half should've seen them decisively take the game away from the visitors, but as chances went begging, it was proven once again that 2-0 is the most dangerous lead when you're Liverpool.

Man of the match – Daniel Sturridge

Although he should've scored five, Daniel Sturridge will rightly take home man of the match honours, as he looked sharp throughout the night, gliding effortlessly into pockets of space created by the movement around him. It was nice seeing him smiling again especially after his second goal of the night.

Special Mentions

Credit goes to Origi as well, who set up two of Sturridge's best chances, and did a great deal of dirty work, pressing, holding up play and softening up defenders. Young guns Alexander-Arnold and Ejaria were tremendously encouraging in their performances, looking every bit like the new generation of footballers coming up through the Liverpool ranks who possess a combination of athletic grace, technical mastery and game intelligence. Penalty aside, Lucas was near flawless at the back, while Simon Mignolet made a number of solid saves. Also need to mention Wijnaldum he is really beginning to grow on me, I initially didn’t see where he really fitted in our side but every time I see him he continues to impress me with his simple but effective play in possession, he always seems to make the right choice which is a sign of a very good player. Just would like to now celebrate seeing a Wijnaldum goal as this is the only thing currently missing from his game.

We now await the EFL cup draw not really fearing anyone left in the competition and move smoothly onto our next game at the weekend, as the majority of Klopp’s favourite eleven will have had a full week's rest ahead of Saturday's trip to Crystal Palace, a bogey team in recent years, and one that has beaten us in three of their past five meetings. Let’s now change this statistic and put this bogey team tag to rest once and for all.

LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Mignolet; Alexander-Arnold (Clyne 68mins), Lucas, Klavan, Moreno; Grujic (Can 89), Stewart, Wijnaldum; Origi (Ings 68), Sturridge, Ejaria

Unused subs: Karius, Lovren, Mane, Lallana

Booked: Alexander-Arnold, Ings, Grujic

Goals: Sturridge 9, 64

TOTTENHAM (4-3-3): Vorm; Trippier, Wimmer, Carter-Vickers, Davies; Carroll (Lamela 61), Dier(Wanyama 68), N'koudou(Harrison 83); Onomah, Janssen, Winks

Unused subs: Lopez, Vertonghen, Walker, Amos

Booked: Winks, Wimmer

Goal: Janssen 76 (pen)

Referee: Jon Moss

Attendance: 53,051 

After match comments from Klopp and LFC legendary captain Graeme Souness on talented youngster Alexander-Arnold “Klopp called Alexander-Arnold's early contributions 'wonderful' in a short statement of praise, and speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports Souness added: 'He looks extremely athletic, quick, aggressive.

'He has all the attributes to be a top player. He's in great shape for a ground-coverer… light on his feet, and he's aggressive. He got himself in trouble once in the first half, but overall I thought he was very good.'

Kevin Stewart, 23, and 18-year-old Ovie Ejaria also drew praise from Souness.

After match comments from Klopp on Sturridge and Origi – “"That's his potential, talent. That's his strength," Klopp told a news conference when asked about Sturridge's performance. "He's a finisher, a really good striker -- no doubt about this.

"I was never in doubt about him even when he didn't score. It's not a question. We don't have to discuss about quality or something.

"Divock Origi didn't score tonight but I think he played quite well. Danny Ings when he came in didn't score but he played really well when he came in.

"That's the thing, Daniel [scored] wonderful goals for us -- really important. I would say in the right moments he could have scored three or four. It was really good."

Liverpool 2 WBA 1: Defensive frailties cause Liverpool to miss out on top spot

Second to Arsenal on goal difference, but for a poor piece of defending we could be sitting pretty at the top.  It would be too easy to say Liverpool’s defensive woes from set pieces almost prove costly, because a catalogue of missed chances presented West Brom with the opportunity to get back in to the game.

During the warm up it was apparent Liverpool’s goalkeeping coach was attempting to recreate the pressure Karius could expect from set pieces stepping in front of the keeper and attempting to bustle the young German out of his stride.  Warm ups and the intensity of game itself are two separate entities.   Karius will hopefully get better over time, but he still needs strong defensive protection.

The intensity of our play is what helps us to continuously flow forward and with the cutting edge of Mane, Lallana, Firmino and the leader of the pack Coutinho, Liverpool have a cutting edge par excellence.

The spark of brilliance gives us that unpredictability, especially when we set-up as counter-punchers.  The fab four are unquestionably the most explosive attacking force in the league with poise, verve and inventiveness the watchwords of their very existence.

The first goal was  an example of our flamboyance and flourish.  From deep in the own half Liverpool roared out of defence. Coutinho feinted a dummy to release Can charging forward, who found Firmino to the affectionate shouts of “go on Bobby” bellowing from the Kop.  The Brazilian now key a member not only of the attacking quartet, but of the mind set and heartbeat of Klopp’s revolution, found Mane on the far past with lovely a lipped ball who clinically side-footed home with precision.

The second goal was different in creation, but the finish was equally adept.  Put under pressure West Brom keeper Foster’s poor clearance allowed Liverpool to regain possession, with Mane finding Coutinho.  The Brazilian left the defender for dead cutting inside with a beautiful change of direction before guiding home his shot with a flourish of his talented right foot.

Saves by Foster, a sensational block by Olsson and Liverpool being profligate in front of goal meant West Brom were always one goal away from turning hope into reality.

Chadi shot wide from barely 10 yards and Morrison curled just over.  It was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable in the Kop and Vicki, fellow supporter alongside me like most of the crowd were beginning to feel the pressure as the tension began to rise.

Morrison and Robson-Kanu replacing Phillips and McClean respectively, enabled West Brom to an gain an assemblance of possession in the final quarter and they began to grow in confidence with Liverpool looking to protect their lead.

Karius from being a bystander was forced to pull off a close range save from McAuley as once again we struggled to deal with our achilles heel from dead ball situations. Inevitably, nine minutes from time West Brom broke through from a corner.

The corner swung in from the left caused the defence to go into the flux and the ball fell to the unmarked McAuley, who sent a blistering shot into the back of the net from six yards.

Liverpool attacking instinct would not be denied and Firmino should have killed the game off after being sent thorough by Wijnaldum, sent on for Lalllana, only to see Foster pull of yet another great block.

The remaining minutes saw a critical block from Lovren from Chadli’s shot and Henderson booked for dissent with the Liverpool captain over emotive in feeling the pressure of possibly throwing away a golden chance. 

The final whistle couldn’t have come too soon with Liverpool scrabbling across the line.

Man of the Match:  Philippe Coutinho – Once again Liverpool’s surgeon general operated with his now expected precision in the final third.  His stop start staccato style is unique in the Premier League and is acquiring admiring glances throughout Europe as he begins to add consistency to his burgeoning talents.  His goal was taken with the style and guile one has now come to expect from a player who is now the de facto leader of Liverpool simply through the expression of his sublime talents.

We do have a problem and it’s not just the obvious one of giving away superfluous goals, especially when seemingly in full control of games. The inability to win central midfield battles, as in the first half against Man United, makes one wonder whether the future lies away from the Henderson plus one axis.  The chance may come earlier than had been expected with Henderson receiving a one match ban for picking up his fifth yellow card.

One can only hope that Karius grows into the role as European goalkeepers tend to struggle initially in the Premier League, specifically because they are called upon to be more dominant in the area.

With Liverpool struggling to defend set pieces one wonders whether Mamadou Sakho is in the manager’s thoughts as his propensity to attack headers defensively is something which we are badly lacking, keeping only one clean sheet in the last 11 matches.  The indiscipline in defence is the reason why we are second and not top due to goal difference and if we learned anything from the 2013-14 season, it’s that the tendency to leak goals will be costly in the long run in trying to win a league.

With Liverpool’s attacking quartet having played out the majority of the match, Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie against Spurs could present the opportunity for Klopp to return Danny Ings to the fold with the former Burnley player’s recent spectacular scoring exploits in the under 23s strongly warranting his inclusion.  With Sturridge, according to his manager going through a torrid time and Origi necessitating much needed game time Liverpool could go in to the Spurs cup tie with a strong, but much changed line-up.

Line-ups:

Liverpool: 1 Karius, 2 Clyne,  32 Matip, 6 Lovren, 7 Milner, 20 Lallana (Wijnaldum 79 mins), 14 Henderson,  23 Can, 19 Mane (Origi 90+1 mins), 11 Firmino. 10 Coutinho (Lucas 88 mins)

Subs:  5 Wijnaldum, 15 Sturridge, 17 Klavan, 18 Moreno, 21 Lucas, 22 Mignolet, 27 Origi

West Brom:  1 Foster, 25 Dawson, 23 McAuley, 3 Olsson, 2 Nyom, 5 Yacob (Brunt 45 mins). 10 Phillips (Morrison 51 mins), 24 Fletcher , 22 Fletcher, 14 McClean (Robson-Kanu 65 mins), 9 Rondon

Subs: 4 Robson- Kanu, 7 Morrison, 8 Garner, 11 Brunt, 13 Myhill, 20 Galloway, 45 Leko

Referee:  Neil Swarbrick

Attendance: 53, 218

Firmino leads fightback to maintain great start to season

Blog by David Douglas (dedlfc)

Swansea 1 Liverpool 2

Pre-match thoughts

As expected Klopp brought back Lovren for Klavan so we can assume this is our manager’s chosen first choice team when all are fit

Swansea stared the game off well and seem to have watched Klopp speaking about tactics on Sky’s showcase programme “Monday Night Football” because they were working around our normal pressing game.

They should have taken the lead when debutant striker Borja Baston headed over from close range.

GOAL – Fer 1-0 -We did not heed the early warning and went a goal down after 8 minutes through Swansea midfielder Leroy Fer’s tap in from another corner – disappointinly Clyne was essentially to blame for failing to win the header.

The achilles heel from set pieces continues to raise its ugly head.  But even more worryingly new keeper Loris Karius continues the feeling of anxiety and nervousness we experienced with Simon Mignolet in goal. Karius has now failed to save the first two shots on his goal in the league. Not a great start!

This was the first time we'd trailed since the Burnley defeat last month and it was interesting to see how we would react to the early setback.

We were still struggling to get into the game then suffered a further setback when the in-form Lallana went off injured after 20 minutes with a groin strain. So our first choice team didn’t last that long!

Sturridge came on for Lallana and was hoping to get his first league goal of the season against a team he had  enjoyed success against.

Swansea continued to be the better side and should have gone into the break 2-0 up with Sigurdsson placing a free-kick on the forehead of Borja, but again he headed over – hopefully he would rue those wasteful chances.

The first half was one to forget, not mustering a single worthwhile attempt on target, yet at the same time feeling uncomfortably familiar against a side we are expected to beat. Granted, Swansea came into this game with a point to prove, but we had been up to that point, far too easy to roll over.

Halftime thoughts

Despite failing to register a shot on target in the first half we all know aside from Man City we have a clinical group of attacking players but we needed Klopp to give them a real rollicking to snap out of their lethargy.  A draw would be the minimum expectation from this position and a win would be a great way to go off before the international break.

We came out looking distinctly better with a clear shift in the games momentum.  Mane and Sturridge combined well, but the resulting shot was cleared.

GOAL Firmino 1-1 - Then our increased endeavour and industrious work got its just rewards with an equaliser coming from an uninspiring free kick from Coutinho,  but Henderson’s excellent follow up cross into the box was met by the head of Firmino – we were now back in the game and looking to step up for the win.

Good pressure from us meant pressing Swansea on the back foot. This is was the team we’ve gotten used to over the past four games. There’s were still 30 minutes left for us to win this game - or concede a soft goal off of another set piece!!

We were beginning to hit our stride now and Coutinho almost added a vital second after a fine move ended in a one-two with Georginio Wijnaldum and the Brazilian shooting just wide

Swansea regained a modicum of control, thanks to some smart substitutions (fresher legs), and we are seeing less of the ball, conceding corners and generally not pushing as ard for the win.

GOAL Milner(pen) 1-2 – Firmino is clumsily brought down in the box with the referee pointing to the spot. James Milner are very own 'iceberg slim' chips the ball home for us to turn the game on its head!! That is now Milner’s 4^th penalty in our 7 league games – he is now our top scorer this season.

There was late defensive panic with the game in injury time when a sweeping cross from Swansea full back Rangel was met by Van der Hoorn from close range but surprisingly he slid the ball wide with our defence completely exposed and keeper Karius totally beaten. Our lucky escape was the last piece of action and we breathed a sigh of relief at the final whistle!!

Final thoughts

Great result but not necessarily a brilliant performance but these are the sort of gritty performances that will get us where we want to alongside the days when we play our swashbuckling football !!

We now go into the international break in fine fettle and also hoping that Lallana and Lovren, respectively have enough time to recover from theirgroin injuries.

Man of the match

Firmino – His excellent headed equaliser and winning of the penalty helped us overcome the early setback.

Special mentions

Clyne – Was at fault for the Swansea goa, but showed character to recover excellently and gave Naughton a tough game throughout.

Karius – So far does not breed confidence to the team – he looks to me like a keeper that has lost his confidence since breaking his hand trying to punch a ball away in pre-season. We need him to regain that confidence or his errors will cost us a game.

SWANSEA (4-3-3): Fabianski; Rangel, Van Der Hoorn, Amat, Naughton; Fer (Fulton 73mins), Britton, (Ki 63) Cork; Routledge (Barrow 63), Borja, Sigurdsson

Subs not used: Taylor, Mawson, Nordfeldt, McBurnie

Goal: Fer 8

Booked: Cork, Britton 

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Karius; Clyne, Matip, Lovren , Milner; Henderson, Wijnaldum (Can 84); Firmino, (Origi 84), Coutinho, Lallana, (Sturridge 23); Mane

Subs not used: Klavan, Moreno, Lucas, Mignolet

Goals: Firmino 54, Milner 84 (pen) 

Booked: Henderson, Sturridge

Referee: Michael Oliver  

Attendance: 20,862