Liverpool staged a superb second-half comeback to defeat Luton Town at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Chiedozie Ogbene had an incredible first half for the Hatters, with his 12th-minute goal separating the two teams at half-time.
However, Jurgen Klopp’s Reds turned on their charm in the second half, with Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott finding the back of the net.
This put Liverpool four points ahead of Manchester City once again, having played one more game, as this match was brought forward from the weekend after Klopp’s team reached the Carabao Cup final.
Here, Adam Patel explore some of the more unusual talking points you may have missed Liverpool 4-1 Luton Town:
Luton’s Chiedozie Ogbene once again showed his threat with a magnificent performance on the right
Ogbene and Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher made their starting debuts for Ireland in 2021.
The first goal here originated in Cork, with a save by Caoimhin Kelleher flying straight into the path of Chiedozie Ogbene, who headed in.
Both were born in Ireland and made their first start for Ireland together in 2021.
Ogbene was a real problem for Liverpool when they played at Kenilworth Road in November, winning more duels and completing more shots than anyone else and on Wednesday night he showed his threat again with a superb performance down the right flank.
Jurgen Klopp had asked the Anfield crowd in his pre-match press conference to help his team, given their injury crisis, but took his anger out on the fans midway through the first half when they reacted negatively to another missed opportunity.
Klopp turned and furiously raised his arms towards the main stand.
“Is this a library?” chanted the Luton fans, before shouting a rendition of “Conference Champions, you’ll never sing that”.
Ten years ago, Luton won the Conference and their fans enjoyed themselves here, before Liverpool accelerated in the second half and Anfield found its voice.
And Klopp treated the four stands with his usual punches after the final whistle.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp took out his anger on the fans midway through the first half.
Ibrahima Konate compared leading a title race to karting in the match program
Ibrahima Konate was the cover star of the match program and it was interesting to see him compare the title race to karting.
“Being in first place can be good, but it can also be difficult,” Konate said. “For example, if you’re up front when you go karting, people are behind you and you’re up there for people to try you on,” she added. Whatever suits you best, Ibou.
One thing is for sure. Neither Man City nor Arsenal will be able to beat Liverpool this weekend.
Luton captain Tom Lockyer appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, where he described his implantable cardioverter defibrillator as his “new superpower”.
Lockyer revealed he thought he was dying on the pitch when he collapsed against Bournemouth in December.
“I kind of knew (it was serious), so when I started to regain consciousness and couldn’t move or talk, the staff was in ‘active mode’. They were focused and it was very serious,” Lockyer said.
“That’s when I thought, ‘Wow, I could be dying.'” My heart got back to its rhythm thanks to the incredible medical staff. I’m lucky it happened where it happened because if it happened outside the hospital or a football field, the survival rate is one in ten.’
The 29-year-old also confirmed that he will take his family’s considerations into account before deciding whether to return to football.
Jurgen Klopp named Liverpool the youngest starter in the Premier League since February 2018, with an average age of 25 years and 68 days. Five of Liverpool’s substitutes were 19 years old or younger, including 16-year-old Trey Nyoni.
Tom Lockyer spoke to Good Morning Britain about his implantable cardioverter defibrillator
Five of Liverpool’s substitutes were 19 years old or younger, including 16-year-old Trey Nyoni.
Only Tottenham (37) have a longer scoring streak in the Premier League than Luton, who have already scored in 13 consecutive games. A statistic that is testament to the fearless character with which Rob Edwards’ team has faced its first season in the Premier League.
With Mo Salah (19), Diogo Jota (14), Darwin Núñez (13), Cody Gakpo (11) and Luis Díaz (10), Liverpool is the first club in Europe’s five major leagues to have five players arrive to 10+. goals in all competitions this season.
In fact, the Reds also became the first team in Europe’s big five leagues to score 100 goals in all competitions in 2023-24.
Liverpool have recovered 22 points after losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other team, and their joint-highest tally in a single campaign in the competition (also 22 in 2008-09).