The Usual Carrow Road Routine
Norwich City 0 Liverpool 3 (Jota 26', Firmino 65', Salah 74')
Norwich, to their credit, were game. They held possession for the opening five minutes and managed to make occasional inroads toward the Liverpool goal. While they have stuck by their purist, attacking philosophy, they have also added a degree of structure and discipline — it will stand to them when they play against lesser opposition. They had some delightful passing sequences in their few periods of sustained possession. Todd Cantwell was present in almost every passage of play, at both ends — his tenacity was befitting of the occasion. The Canaries can feel relatively optimistic about their survival hopes. Be that as it may, it is no secret that their encounters against the Merseysiders rarely go their way — even without their perennial tormentor Luis Suarez, this was a tough ask.
Liverpool’s lineup was a slight cause for concern — while a return for the magisterial Van Dijk was widely welcomed, there were worries about his match fitness. Jurgen Klopp also elected to field a midfield trio of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita. With Fabinho dropped to the bench after a length Copa America campaign, there were fears that Liverpool lacked defensive rigour in the centre. Nevertheless, it was expected that their class at either end of the pitch would be too much for Norwich.
Kostas Tsimikas, with only 6 Premier League minutes recorded in his debut season, deputised for the injured Andrew Robertson — and for the duration of the opening half, he played like a man who had a point to prove. His linkup with Sadio Mane down the left wing left an isolated Max Aarons with a mammoth defensive task. In contrast to Robertson, who often uses his physicality to make efficient, mechanical runs, Tsimikas looked more nimble, and was perhaps more adept in tight spaces. His defensive contribution was noticeably lesser — his relationship with Van Dijk is not as developed as Robertson’s. His output waned toward the end of the game — at one point he was physically admonished by Milner for dawdling on the ball in the final third. For someone with effectively no Premier League experience, he had an impressive showing — but Robertson’s tireless running, and efficacy at both ends, is seemingly irreplaceable.
Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk, who seldom featured in last year’s torturous campaign, looked as assured as they ever have, and they continue to demonstrate the defensive prowess that netted Liverpool domestic and European titles. The somewhat diminutive Teemu Pukki was never going to outmuscle either of the colossi. Van Dijk’s long, searching balls are a unique trademark for a centre-back, and they were often missed as an attacking tool in his absence. He played them in abundance throughout the game without fault — a welcome sight. Those who were alarmed about a permanent departure from form can sleep soundly. Matip’s idiosyncratic, marauding runs through the midfield sadly did not make an appearance.
Liverpool’s midfield play was poor, to be generous. Their offensive function was to distribute to the full-backs; defensively, some major issues arose. Oxlade-Chamberlain was simply anonymous and made no real contribution of note in either attack or defense. Milner was decidedly more active, but his age befalls him at this stage of his career. Whatever guile and determination he may have is negated by a lack of positional discipline and his depreciating agility. He made a number of needless fouls and was the only Liverpool player to receive a booking. While he may be serviceable for games against decidedly weaker opposition, the vice-captain continues to demonstrate that he is a liability against more clinical and ruthless teams. Fabinho’s introduction on the hour brought much-needed calm to the team at 1–0, and there is little doubt he’ll start the next game.
Naby Keita, then. He’s had a frustrating time of it. His immense quality is often disregarded by fans who are less than enamoured with his injury record. His stop-start Liverpool career is probably contingent on his staying fit for the proceeding campaign. That said, his performance was markedly better than his midfield counterparts. His pressing was intelligent and measured, and his passing and dribbling sharper. He was beleaguered with the task of marshalling a messy centre-field and rose to the task. If he can stay fit, he is certainly in the running for a starting berth.
Mohamed Salah continues to astound in his consistency. There is seemingly no respite for the Premier League from his attacking exploits, even in his fifth season at Anfield. His genius is in his efficiency — regardless of how much or how little he sees the ball, he will almost always net a goal contribution. Indeed, he bagged two assists and a goal. The first goal for Liverpool was perhaps quite fortuitous — Salah’s attempted control from an Alexander-Arnold cross inadvertently split the Norwich centre-halves and fell to an otherwise-quiet Diogo Jota. His scuffed snapshot went under the body of an ill-prepared Tim Krul, giving Liverpool a deserved but uninspiring campaign-opener. Liverpool’s front three felt a little disjointed for the first sixty minutes despite the goal — it is not evident whether Jota possesses the technical wizardry of Roberto Firmino that makes the attack tick. He made some mazy runs toward the Norwich box when given space, but ultimately contributed little beyond the goal — not that he’ll care.
Liverpool’s attack really began to purr with the arrival of Roberto Firmino, in place of Jota. The familiar mechanics of a classic Liverpool attack showed themselves only five minutes after the substitution— while Mane had spent much of the first half isolated on the left wing, playing one-twos with Tsimikas; his foray into the middle ultimately led to Salah’s second assist and Firmino’s first goal of the season. Firmino and Mane’s exchange of positions is the exact kind of unpredictability that makes Liverpool so lethal at their best. Salah’s weak-footed pass was typically efficient, and Firmino getting off the mark so quickly will do his confidence in front of goal a world of good.
Liverpool can be rather dangerous from set-pieces. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deliveries are world-class at the worst of times, and coupled with the enormous statures of Matip and Van Dijk, make for a very potent offensive weapon. Norwich looked shaky for all 11 corners earned by Liverpool, and eventually this pressure led to a third goal. Rather than the head of a centre-half, however, the goal arose from a headed clearance landing tidily at the feet of the mercurial Salah. Given plenty of space, his curled effort from the edge of the box sailed neatly into the far post. The game was dead and buried by that point anyway, but Salah’s goal was a stark reminder that Liverpool’s Egyptian King is the dangerman in English football.
Alisson, who by all accounts had done little but sporadically gather some floated crosses, had a singular moment of brilliance, making a triple-save from point-blank range to maintain a clean sheet. His form had faltered at times last season under added defensive strain and emotional turbulence — he was roundly humiliated by Manchester City at Anfield in February. With any luck he’ll rise to his world-class abilities on a more consistent basis for the coming season. His commanding presence in the box was key to Liverpool’s defensive rigidity in previous successes, and his creative distribution led to several important goals. In what looks to be one of the most competitive seasons for quite some time, he will be expected to do more than he did today.
Liverpool can be satisfied with their performance on the opening day, but ultimately a routine win against Norwich is not what will win titles. With respect to Daniel Farke’s side, of whom I am very fond, far greater challenges await Liverpool. No doubt though, they will be immensely hungry to avenge a lacklustre third-place finish. With the return of the mighty Anfield faithful (who made the most noise at Carrow Road, it must be said), it stands to reason that this hunger will be key to mounting a title challenge. Jurgen Klopp’s side have fallen slightly under the media radar, in comparison to the flashy expenditure of their title rivals, but Liverpool have always operated best as an underdog. Rival managers should be wary, because a rejuvenated, healthy Liverpool side, is a very scary Liverpool side.
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Milner, Keita (Elliott 83), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Fabinho 60), Salah, Mané, Jota (Firmino 60)
Norwich City XI: Krul, Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis, Gilmour, Lees-Melou, Rupp, Rashica (Sargent 77), Cantwell (Dowell 86), Pukki (Idah 77).
