EPL: Liverpool crush Norwich in season-opener

Liverpool got off to a flying start in the new Premier League season as they crushed Norwich City 4-1 on Friday night at Anfield.

An own goal from Norwich City captain, Grant Hanley, gave the Reds the lead before Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Divock Origi all got a goal each to leave the Canaries four goals behind at the break.

Teemu Pukki came up with a response for the visitors in the second period, but Liverpool’s impressive first-half performance proved to be more than enough to gain all three points.

Jurgen Klopp’s men broke the deadlock when Origi’s low cross from the left was turned into the back of his own net by Canaries captain Hanley.

After a couple of missed chances, the Reds doubled their lead in the 19th minute when Salah ran onto a clever pass from Roberto Firmino before expertly finding the bottom corner of the net.

The bad situation got worse for Norwich in the 28th minute when Van Dijk headed a Salah corner into the back of the net after some lacklustre defending from the Championship winners.

It was not all smooth sailing for Liverpool in the first half as they lost their first-choice goalkeeper, Alisson, to a calf problem in the 39th minute, which allowed former West Ham United stopper, Adrian, to come on for his debut.

The Champions League winners were not finished in terms of first-half goals, though, with Origi heading a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross into the back of the net for 4-0 in the 42nd minute.

While many expected the scoring spree to continue in the second half, it was Norwich that reduced the deficit with their solitary effort which denied Liverpool the clean sheet they would have cherished.