By Michael Owen On the anniversary of Bill Shankly’s death, Liverpool did their legendary manager proud, firing five past Norwich to seal their first Premier League win of the season. A hat-trick of well-taken goals by Luis Suarez was added to by a tap in from Nuri Sahin and a deflected shot from captain Steven Gerrard to give Liverpool all three points at Carrow Road. Second-half goals from Morison and substitute Holt were only mere consolations for the home side who were thoroughly outplayed by the visitors. It was an assured performance from the Merseyside outfit, with Suso pulling the strings in the middle of the park in the early stages, whilst Glen Johnson made up for some shaky performances at left-back with an assured attacking display against the Canaries. The midfield three of Sahin, Gerrard and Joe Allen were too much for Norwich to handle, with the hosts not putting enough pressure on the Reds in the middle of the park, allowing the trio to find ample opportunities to find the in-form Luis Suarez. The impressive performance put in by Liverpool’s youngsters was taken into account by Brendan Rodgers, handing full Premier League debuts to both Andre Wisdom and Suso, with Nuri Sahin also being rewarded for his two goals against West Brom with a start at Carrow Road. Chris Hughton made two changes to the Norwich side which lost to Newcastle at St James’ Park last Sunday, bringing in Michael Turner for the injured Sebastian Bassong and preferring Simeon Jackson to Wes Hoolahan up front. Liverpool got off the mark almost immediately, with Suso playing a ball across to the left flank for Glen Johnson, who broke forward and played it to Luis Suarez, and the Uruguayan was afforded too much time by the Norwich defence, allowing the number seven to place a shot into the bottom corner from just outside the box. Brendan Rodgers side continued to dominate the early stages of the first-half, though as the game progressed Norwich looked more of a threat, with Jackson forcing a good save from Pepe Reina as he latched on to an in-swinging ball and hit it low from close range. A poor refereeing decision denied Liverpool the chance to double their lead, with Suarez clearly brought down in the box by Barnett but his pleas for a spot kick were waved away by the official at Carrow Road Mike Jones. A quick break by Liverpool saw the Reds come tantalisingly close to getting a second with ten minutes of the first half left as Suarez found space in the middle of the park and played a inch perfect ball over the top the the incoming Steven Gerrard, whose headed effort from the centre of the box was well-saved by John Ruddy. Shortly after Liverpool finally did double their tally as Suarez turned his man well just outside the box, taking a few steps forward before hitting a well-controlled curling effort with the outside of his boot into the outstretched Ruddy’s right-hand corner. Norwich came out of the blocks quickly at the start of the second-half, but a rapid counter-attack allowed Suarez to play the ball low into the centre of the box, with the ensuing goal line scramble leading to Nuri Sahin blasting in from close range to score his third in the week and Liverpool’s third of the day. The Canaries nearly fired back immediately, with a corner kick eventually finding Grant Holt, who was brought on at half-time, with Norwich’s player of the year seeing his shot well deflected by Johnson before Andrew Surman scuffed his effort out of play from close range. After Suarez had set up Sahin earlier in the game the Real Madrid loan star returned the favour, playing it to the Reds front man who shifted the ball onto his right foot before curling a low shot from outside of the box into the bottom left-hand corner of Ruddy’s goal, giving his side a four goal lead. Just after the goal Suso, who put in a solid performance for the Reds, particularly during the opening moments of the first half, was replaced by Oussama Assaidi, whose performance in Liverpool’s League Cup game midweek showed many promising signs. The home side did manage to get one goal back, with Snodgrass firing a shot which span quickly right, forcing Reina to fumble the ball back into the area where Morison capitalised by tapping into an open goal, reducing the deficit to three. With 65 minutes played Brendan Rodgers made his second substitution of the game, taking off the impressive Nuri Sahin and bring on England international Jordan Henderson. Liverpool ensured their performance was a five-star one when Raheem Sterling broke quickly down the right-wing, taking a moment to look up and pulling it back to Steven Gerrard, whose first-time shot took a slight deflection before finding the back of the net. With five minutes to go Grant Holt got the better off Martin Skrtel, pushing the ball out to the left before quickly cutting back inside to go one-on-one with Pepe Reina, who for the second time in the game was caught out be a Norwich forward, with Holt finishing well to pull another one back.

A news article on 2012-09-29 15:57:00 from: The Anfield Opinion

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