Burton 0 Liverpool 5: Jurgen Klopp delighted after Reds run riot in EFL Cup

JURGEN KLOPP headed out of brewing town Burton with a clear head and not one single sign of a cup hangover.

By Dave Armitage                    

IMPRESSIVE: Liverpool celebrate in their 5-0 win

The Kop boss made his intentions crystal clear from the start when he named a strong side showing just four changes from the team beaten by Burnley at the weekend.

Klopp told his men to get on the front foot right from the off and they didn’t let him down.

Burton sensed they were in trouble early on and though they battled gamely you just sensed it wasn’t going to be their night.

Fair play to Klopp – he wasn’t messing about. Poor old Burton had that spelled out to them when they were 3-0 down and Daniel Sturridge was then brought on from the bench.

Sturridge, a 64th minute sub, banged in two quickfire goals to complete the rout.

 

An early goal from Divock Origi set Liverpool on their way and when Roberto Firmino added a second in the 27th minute, it was hard to see any way back for the Championship side.

But for a couple of crucial interventions from keeper Stephen Bywater the tie could easily have been out of The Brewers’ reach by half-time.

Origi had already forced the keeper to make a good save from his seventh minute shot after Sadio Mane had split the home defence.

And it was Bywater to the rescue again minutes later when he made a flying save to push Firmino’s powerful header around the post for a corner.

They didn’t have to wait long, Origi scoring with the simplest of tap-ins in the 15th minute after Mane had twisted his way to the by-line.

 

Five minutes later, Klopp’s men should have added to it when Jordan Henderson curled a beautiful ball to the far post only to see Adam Lallana steer his stooping header wide from a couple of yards out.
 

In the 27th minute Liverpool grabbed a second and this time Bywater had to shoulder some of the blame when he threw the ball out straight to Mane.

He sent Nathaniel Clyne racing down the right and when the full-back swept his cross over there was Firmino unmarked to power home a close range header.

Clough’s men harried and chased and though they forced a brief flurry of corners, they were struggling to trouble Simon Mignolet in the visitors’ goal.

But on the hour Liverpool effectively killed the tie off when Burton got in a pickle from a James Milner corner and Tom Naylor got the final touch into his own net.

Sturridge added a fourth on 75 minutes when he rammed the ball home from close range from Milner’s low cross and helped himself to another near the end with a crisp left foot shot.