Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool leaving party began with an emphatic 5-2 victory over Norwich City in the fourth round of the FA Cup at Anfield.
The legendary Reds manager, who announced two days ago that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season, witnessed Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch breach the Canaries backline, whose sloppy play out from the back contributed to their downfall.
The shoulder of Ben Gibson and a Carlos Sainz screamer gave David Wagner's men a couple of flickers of hope, but Liverpool's offensive forces comfortably outgunned their Championship counterparts, and either Watford or Southampton - who drew 1-1 at Vicarage Road - await in round five.
In the Reds' first game since Klopp dropped his resignation bombshell, 19-year-old midfielder James McConnell was handed his first start for the Merseyside giants, who also welcomed Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai back to the matchday squad following their injury problems.
After a particularly impassioned rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone brought a smile to Klopp's face, Liverpool quickly took control of the tie, penning Norwich back into their own defensive third from the get-go.
The scoreless Joe Gomez had the first sighter of goal in the fifth minute, but he was kept waiting to open his Liverpool account as his long-range drive flashed wide, five moments before Nunez came close with an instinctive curling strike, which clipped the post and bounced away.
The inevitable Liverpool opener soon arrived in the 16th minute, and all the plaudits went to the teenage McConnell, who picked out the run of Jones with an inch-perfect cross to the back stick, where his compatriot was on hand to guide a calm header across goal and into the corner.
Delight turned to despair for the Anfield faithful just six minutes later, though, as against the run of play, Norwich levelled through Gibson, who met a Gabriel Sara corner at the near post and managed to loop the ball over Alisson Becker's reach via the top of his shoulder.
© Reuters
However, only another six minutes passed before Liverpool's advantage was restored, as after winning the ball back on the halfway line, Conor Bradley made a storming run up the pitch, dragged Kenny McLean out of position and fed Nunez, who took one touch before finding the bottom corner with aplomb.
The Liverpool press was suffocating a Norwich side who were making a meal of their attempts to play out from the back, and Wagner's men were fortunate to avoid going two goals down in the 31st and 32nd minutes, as Cody Gakpo missed a sitter before Grant Hanley made a heroic block to stop Gravenberch's strike from creeping in.
Norwich's resistance was broken again just eight minutes into the second period, though, and it was goalscorer Gibson who went from hero to zero, attempting to cut out a long pass but only heading the ball straight into Jota's path, and the Portuguese did not even need to take a touch before crashing home low into the goal.
Even with the tie almost a foregone conclusion, Klopp called upon the cavalry from the bench, and two of the Reds' substitutes combined for the game's fifth goal in the 63rd minute, as Van Dijk guided Szoboszlai's outswinging corner into the back of the net.
Norwich were going down swinging, though, and just one moment after a Christian Fassnacht goal was ruled out for offside, Sainz drove infield and rifled a thunderous 20-yard finish beyond Alisson's reach, having been allowed to get his shot away by the back-pedalling Van Dijk.
It took a magnificent double save from Norwich goalkeeper George Long to stop Gravenberch and Jota restoring the hosts' three-goal lead in the 79th minute, but the former would make amends deep into injury time.
Not content to declare at four, Liverpool made it a five-star showing as Bradley's cross bounced into the ground and into the path of Gravenberch, who could not miss with a header from a few yards out.
Klopp's men now have a Premier League showdown with Chelsea on the agenda for Wednesday, while Norwich have a few days to dwell before hosting Coventry City in next Saturday's Championship battle.
Ben Knapton
