...WHILE LIVERPOOL ARE IN 7th HEAVEN
BOLD citrus, the marketing men call it. Bold decision, others would have said, a sight that could have made for sore eyes. Liverpool donned their new third kit and the colour — luminous orange — would have left them with no place to hide had things gone askew. Fortunately for Jurgen Klopp, they made a statement in their performance rather than their fashion. Klopp wanted a win to mark the second anniversary of his first game in charge of Liverpool, but he could not have envisaged what his players produced. Even for a club with such a fine European pedigree, this was a record-breaking night. They plundered seven unanswered goals in Maribor, smashing their previous best scoreline of 5-0 (achieved three times — in 1964, 1976 and 2001) to leave Klopp purring about the quality of a display that will do wonders for confidence. ‘Wow,’ said Klopp. ‘The history of this wonderful club can be like a backpack. Now we get to write our own history. It will be difficult to beat that (in the future). To win 7-0 is quite rare. We did unbelievably well.’ The success came thanks to the irresistible play of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho, who shared the first five goals, before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Trent Alexander-Arnold completed the demolition. Liverpool had the lead within 196 seconds. Salah hurtled down the right, left his pursuer Marko Suler in a heap and crossed for Firmino, who tapped in from four yards. They didn’t have to wait long for the second and it was the pick of the four they managed before the interval, James Milner sweeping in a cross that Coutinho gleefully volleyed beyond Jasmin Handanovic. Soon, two became three. Salah drilling a shot through Handanovic’s legs. The Egyptian added a fourth ahead of the break, darting in front of Firmino to apply the finishing touch to Alberto Moreno’s cross. Firmino then glanced in Coutinho’s 55th minute free-kick, which was followed by OxladeChamberlain’s first Liverpool goal and a late tap-in for Trent Alexander-Arnold. It was, nonetheless, a significant one as it meant they equalled their best-ever away score in Europe.