Premier League leaders Liverpool defeated Luton Town 4-1 in the second half to regain their four-point lead at the top.
As the exhausted hosts struggled to rediscover their best form, Chiedozie Ogbene’s early header appeared to be creating yet another twist in the title battle. It was only the 11th league goal a visiting club has scored at Anfield this season.
However, in the next two minutes, headers from Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk turned the tide, and Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott added more goals to pull them clear of second-place Manchester City.
In a match that presently has three teams in contention, any mistake, especially at this early point, may have a big impact. Had City not won, they would have still had a chance to move top against Bournemouth on Saturday, when Liverpool is playing Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final.
Although no chances were taken with Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, who are both sidelined, that Wembley match meant that injuries had already ruled out nine other players, leaving Jurgen Klopp with very little choice.
Particularly in the first half, it was evident that substitutes Elliott and Gakpo lacked a half-yard of pace in both their throwing and running.
The lone consistent starter in the forward line, Diaz, made a terrible decision in the third minute, delaying his shot too long while attempting to move it to his right foot and missing the mark with just custodian Thomas Kaminski to beat.
In the twelfth minute, Luton took the lead and shocked Anfield. After Cauley Woodrow sent the ball back to Tahith Chong, who was shooting from a tight angle, the ball went under Caoimhin Kelleher and bounced up to the far post, where Ogbene headed into an empty net.
Luton’s strategy was to try to target the space behind the full-backs, but Liverpool’s choices were limited as they would often be left playing man-on-man defence, leaving Luton two on two.
Leeds in October 2022, the last visiting team to win a league match at Anfield, accomplished the same feat.
Additionally, Luton exerted more effort and intelligence as the hosts turned to long-range shooting, with Albert Sambi Lokonga clearing Elliott off the ball as he attempted to score from Gakpo’s flick-on.
Elliott missed two breakaways and his passes to Gakpo were two yards too long and three feet short. As the final ball escaped them, frustrations grew and Klopp lost his cool, yelling at a fan in front of the main stand, possibly because of the fan’s unfavourable response to a third mishandled Elliott pass.
The second half started with less than promising signs as Diaz fired directly at Teden Mengi. However, Gakpo’s near-post attempt was deflected, and Van Dijk headed in a corner kick from Alexis Mac Allister in the 56th minute.
After two minutes, Gakpo made an incredible leap to send Conor Bradley’s cross past Kaminski, who had used his knees to beautifully divert Bradley’s attempt.
When Liverpool applied further pressure, replacement Andy Robertson came racing forward to set up Diaz for the third goal. The Luton custodian performed even better, blocking another strong header from Van Dijk.
Elliott scored his second goal of the season late on as Luton stayed in the bottom three, making him the fifth player in Liverpool history to achieve double figures. This makes Liverpool the best team in all five of Europe’s divisions.
