- Norwich led 3-1 on 53 mins
- 9 goals scored, 10 shots on target
- Lallana wins it at the death
Liverpool beat Norwich City 5-4 in an epic encounter at Carrow Road on Saturday in an nine-goal thriller thanks to an injury-time winner from Adam Lallana.
[ MORE: Klopp reacts | Lallana, Milner ]
A truly breathless game saw six goals scored from the first six shots on target as Roberto Firmino gave Liverpool the lead early on but a clever flick from Dieumerci Mbokani and a debut goal from Steven Naismith put Norwich ahead at the break.
[ VIDEO: Lallana’s dramatic late goal ]
Minutes into the second half Wes Hoolahan scored from the spot to put the Canaries 3-1 up but then came the comeback.
First Jordan Henderson swept home. 3-2. Then Firmino equalized and a horrible defense mistake let in James Milner 15 minutes from time to put Liverpool 4-3 but Sebastien Bassong’s stunning strike in stoppage made it 4-4. However, there was one final twist as Lallana’s shot bounced in to make it 5-4 with seconds left.
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We perhaps shouldn’t be too surprised by the fact that this was a goalfest as in the last six encounters between these teams 34 goals have been scored. Also, in a somewhat spooky coincidence Liverpool beat Norwich 5-4 in January, 1962. Yep, that’s exactly 54 years ago.
With the win the Reds are on 34 points, while Norwich remain on 22 points.
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Liverpool went ahead in the 19th minute as Firmino after a ball down the left from Alberto Moreno found James Milner in the box and he slotted in the Brazilian to squeeze the ball home. 1-0.
Milner had a glorious chance moments later as he burst through one-on-one on Norwich goalkeeper Declan Rudd but Robbie Brady made a terrific last-ditch tackle to deny him.
Liverpool’s lead didn’t last too long as they failed to clear a high ball into the box and after it bounced around Mbokani sent a clever back heel past Simon Mignolet and in. 1-1.
Liverpool struggled to get going after that equalizer and soon they were behind.
1 - Steven Naismith has now scored his first Premier League goal for both Everton & Norwich against Liverpool. Replay.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 23, 2016
Norwich turned the game on its head just before half time as Naismith picked the ball up 40-yards out and played it to Pinto. The new full back then knocked it into Wes Hoolahan and his slotted ball found the onrushing Naismith and the former Evertonian smashes the ball home emphatically into the far corner.
2-1, and Naismith was an instant hero on his debut.
[ RELATED: Latest Premier League standings ]
Eight minutes into the second half Naismith was first fouled and then pushed in the box by Moreno and Norwich were awarded a penalty kick. Hoolahan put the spot kick down the middle as it just evaded Mignolet’s dive. 3-1. Massive mistake from Moreno as an unhappy Klopp had his arms folded on the sidelines.
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]
Moments later Liverpool were right back in the game as a cross from the right found Henderson completely unmarked and the Liverpool skipper swept the ball home into the far corner. 3-2 to Norwich, as five goals had been scored from the game’s opening five shots on target. Remarkable.
In the final third of the game Liverpool pushed hard to go level and in the 64th minute the equalizer arrived with Emre Can flicking the ball around the corner to Milner who played it down the line to Lallana. The substitute then found Firmino with a perfect pass and the Brazilian finished with aplomb. 3-3 as six shots on goal had yielded six goals.
5-4 - There have been four 5-4 results in Premier League history and Norwich have lost two of them (also v Southampton in April 94). Chaos.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 23, 2016
With 15 minutes to go Liverpool took the lead as a misplaced back pass from Russell Martin played in Milner and the Englishman slotted past Rudd to complete the incredible comeback. 4-3 to the Reds.
Bassong then scored a stunning strike in the 91st minute to make it 4-4 and Norwich thought they had nicked a point, but the sub Lallana popped up and smashed a shot into the ground which looped in. 5-4 and cue wild celebrations as Jurgen Klopp ran down the touchline to celebrate with his players.
Madness. Utter madness.