LIVERPOOL: Jurgen Klopp said his injury-ravaged Liverpool produced “fireworks” to come from a goal down to beat Luton 4-1 to open a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday.
Chiedozie Ogbene gave the Hatters a shock first-half lead against Liverpool, who were missing Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota, among others.
Netherlands international duo Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo turned the game on its head in the space of two minutes just before the hour mark, before Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott secured victory.
The win takes Klopp’s men four points clear of Manchester City and five ahead of third-placed Arsenal, but they have played a game more than both of their title rivals.
“How the stadium and the team have changed the game together is exceptional,” Klopp said.
“We have to be more calm in the crucial moments. Once we calmed down, there were fireworks. I would say they were fantastic goals. It’s a fantastic night.
Liverpool were already struggling with injuries before losing Curtis Jones, Jota and Nunez in the first half of Saturday’s 4-1 win at Brentford.
Salah scored on his return from a hamstring injury at the weekend but was forced to come on as a substitute earlier than planned and suffered a setback that kept him out.
Klopp was already without Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara through injury and the Reds were made to work harder than they would have liked for the three points just days before Sunday’s League Cup final against Chelsea.
However, Salah and Nunez could be fit in time to feature at Wembley.
“We have to see, but I said before the game, if we have 11 players, we will go for it,” Klopp added.
Luton held Liverpool 1-1 when the sides met at Kenilworth Road in November and have a habit of ruffling the feathers of the Premier League elite on their return to the top flight.
However, the visitors were hardly a threat until they went ahead on 12 minutes.
Tahith Chong burst into the Liverpool box and when his powerful shot was parried by the legs of Caoimhin Kelleher, Ogbene headed in at the far post.
All of Liverpool’s chances before the break fell to Diaz, but the Colombian was in vain with his six shots on target.
Klopp whipped up the Anfield crowd at every opportunity and his side finally opened the floodgates in the 56th minute.
Captain Van Dijk led by example as he took his mark to power through Alexis Mac Allister’s corner.
“The reaction today was excellent and something we need for the rest of the season,” Van Dijk said. “Today was big!”
Mac Allister was the creator again seconds later as Luton again turned off the dead ball.
Conor Bradley’s throw-in picked out the Argentina midfielder and his volleyed cross was cleared by Gakpo.
Only a couple of heroics from Thomas Kaminski denied Gakpo and Van Dijk their second goals of the night as Liverpool continued to surge even when in the lead.
And an animated Klopp was finally able to rest 19 minutes from time when Diaz kept his composure this time to net his 10th goal of the season.
Elliott then completed the scoring on his 100th appearance for Liverpool by firing the loose ball into the top corner.
Defeat leaves Luton still in the relegation zone on goal difference.
“We played into their hands in the second half and their counter-attack was incredible, we experienced full-throttle football,” Luton boss Rob Edwards said.
“We knew today was going to be a really big task. We’ve shown for a long time that we’re a good team and we can compete.”
