Liverpool 5 - 1 HullLiverpool’s Adam Lallana inspires emphatic win over 10-man Hull
Home team scorersAdam Lallana 17
James Milner 30 Pen
Sadio Mane 36
Phillippe Coutinho 52
James Milner 71 Pen
Away team scorersDavid Meyler 51
Jürgen Klopp admonished the Kop for singing his name before the conclusion of Liverpool’s previous home game but this time there were no complaints. It was the 82nd minute when Anfield felt safe to salute their manager: their team were coasting 5-1 against 10-man Hull and all had gone brilliantly, devastatingly to plan. Or so it seemed.
“I don’t want to criticise but ...” said the Liverpool manager with an apologetic grin. “I think we could have done better in the second half. It was good, but not as good as it could have been. I am really happy and usually I am quite a thankful person. I am really thankful for the first half. We have a lot of things to improve and one is that if you are brilliant you need to be brilliant for 95 minutes. But that is my responsibility and my problem.”
Good luck to Liverpool’s opponents when they do reach Klopp’s exacting standards. His team have now scored four times or more in four of their eight matches this season and this rampant, incisive performance ensured a 54th birthday to forget for Hull’s caretaker manager, Mike Phelan.
Still “waiting for answers” from the club’s current owners over the offer of a permanent managerial appointment, he had Ahmed Elmohamady dismissed after half an hour and a long time to wait for that birthday drink.
“I will have one,” he said. “You have to have one in defeat as well as when you win. I’m not going to pick holes in the team or the players. You don’t want to find yourself down to 10 men against any opposition, never mind Arsenal and now Liverpool. There are harsh lessons in football and we have learned some over the last week.”
Two James Milner penalties and goals from the impressive Adam Lallana, Sadio Mané and Philippe Coutinho took Liverpool’s tally to 24 in eight games. At the corresponding stage of last season, under Brendan Rodgers, they had scored six. Klopp had called for anger from his players and patience from the crowd but there was no examination of the latter as Liverpool took control immediately and a comfortable early lead.
Hull set up to stifle Liverpool’s runs from midfield plus the varying threats of Coutinho and Mané either side of Roberto Firmino. They were powerless on all counts, even with 11 men. Joel Matip and Coutinho had both missed clear chances before the hosts swept in front with another demonstration of how their understanding in the final third and Lallana’s influence have grown this season.
Coutinho was the creator, exchanging passes with Milner on the left and ghosting away from Ryan Mason before feeding Lallana’s run. The England international had work to do but, before Andrew Robertson could intervene, he guided the ball behind the defender and inside David Marshall’s left post.
Another flowing, enterprising move ensured there was no way back for Hull with a third of the game gone. Firmino released Mané into space and when Coutinho met the Senegal striker’s pass with a powerful drive beyond Marshall, Elmohamady stuck out his right arm to deny a certain goal. The referee, Andre Marriner, had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and showing a straight red card. The Egyptian was heading down the tunnel when Milner tucked his penalty beyond Marshall’s dive to his left. “It is a sending-off and a penalty,” Phelan accepted. “Probably now there is a mentality that is better to let the ball go in and stay on the field.”
Hull were in damage-limitation mode and Liverpool were showcasing long before the interval. Georginio Wijnaldum even had time to nutmeg the referee. Mané got the goal his efforts deserved following more good work by Lallana. Spinning away from Mason on the corner of the Hull area, the midfielder picked out Mané and he provided a fine finish to beat Marshall low to his right.
The visitors grabbed a consolation when Loris Karius, selected ahead of Simon Mignolet in Liverpool’s goal, stayed on his line when Robertson curled a corner in from the left. Wijnaldum, under pressure from the substitute Harry Maguire at his back, was unable to clear with his header and his fellow substitute David Meyler converted with a close-range volley.
The comeback always seemed a fanciful prospect and Liverpool restored their three-goal advantage in magnificent style within seconds. Once again Lallana was involved, cutting across the Hull defence and finding Coutinho lurking in the area where he causes most damage. The Brazilian accepted the invitation to beat Marshall with a trademark shot from 25 yards and the home team continued to coast towards a fourth consecutive victory.
Lallana received a standing ovation when replaced by Daniel Sturridge and the substitute was quickly involved in the procession, going over Robertson’s trailing leg inside the area and earning Liverpool a second spot-kick. The result was the same as the first, Milner firing low to Marshall’s left, and, as with the game itself, had never looked in doubt.
Guardian
