Liverpool 5-2 Norwich: Player ratings as Reds begin Klopp farewell with FA Cup win
Liverpool began their send-off for departing manager Jurgen Klopp by beating Norwich City 5-2 at an emotional Anfield on Sunday afternoon to secure their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup where they will face Watford or Southampton.
Curtis Jones opened the scoring in the sixth minute as he headed in unmarked before the Canaries struck against the run of play through defender Ben Gibson.
The Reds soon retook the lead as Darwin Nunez capitalised on sharp work from Conor Bradley to finish comfortably before second-half strikes from Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch wrapped up proceedings, though Norwich did manage to reduce the deficit through a Borja Sainz thunderbolt.
It's been quite a whirlwind few days for Liverpool fans and this fourth-round tie against Norwich might not have produced such a fervent atmosphere if not for Klopp's announcement on Friday.
The German smiled as the camera panned to him while 'You'll Never Walk Alone' blasted out around Anfield shortly before kick-off as the final stretch of his nine-year stint as Reds manager began.
«Don't think about me anymore» was the message from Klopp to ITV before kick-off and his players started as if the earth-shattering news of his exit still had not been made public.
Had Joe Gomez managed to send his right-footed effort into the bottom corner from outside the box, it might have prompted one of Klopp's greatest touchline sprints, but the versatile defender's long goal drought continued as his shot screwed just wide.
Chaos fiend Nunez nearly took advantage of some overly ambitious play from Norwich near their own goal, but the Uruguayan's curled shot came back off the post.
The Reds' dominant start was rewarded with the opening goal of the contest.
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