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28 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 AUGUST 2019 FOOTBALL SPORTS IN last season's record-break- ing Premier League title race, a single loss to eventual champi- ons Manchester City in January was enough to deny Liverpool the trophy they have craved for 29 years. With this campaign's battle at the top expected once again to be defined by small margins - and with City having strength- ened significantly this summer - the need for a fast start to the season was lost on no-one at Anfield as the 2019-20 cam- paign got under way with the visit of Norwich. The Reds' pre-season was dominated by concerns about the fitness of their front three - Mohamed Salah, Roberto Fir- mino and Sadio Mane - all of whom missed the summer tour to the United States because of international commitments. Would a lack of preparation time cost Jurgen Klopp's side at the beginning of the season? And could a slow start derail their title chances before the race had really begun? The answers to those ques- tions were delivered, emphati- cally, by Liverpool in the first 42 minutes of their campaign as they stormed into a 4-0 lead on the way to beating newly promoted Norwich 4-1. Their blistering start was a cruel reminder of the realities of Premier League football for the Canaries but the perfect way for the Reds to set out their stall for the season ahead. There was a carnival atmos- phere for Liverpool's first home game since beating Tot- tenham to win the Champions League in Madrid on 1 June. Inside Anfield, a mosaic ap- peared on the Kop before kick- off to celebrate Liverpool's sixth European Cup. Outside the ground, fans posed for photographs in front of a ter- raced house a stone's throw from the ground where a new mural pays tribute to Trent Al- exander-Arnold, the teenager whose role in last season's Eu- ropean glory secured his place in club folklore. The Kop roared its approval when the announcer on the public address system read out Norwich's team and then shouted: "And this is how the champions of Europe line up." On the pitch, the team did not disappoint. Divock Origi, the hero in the latter stages of last season's tri- umphant Champions League run, made a rare start in place of Mane, still not ready to play from the outset having only recently returned to training following the Africa Cup of Nations. Origi played a starring role, forcing the error for Grant Hanley's own goal which made it 1-0 and then heading in the fourth, involvements that came either side of goals from Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Just over 12 months ago Bel- gian Origi was finishing a pret- ty underwhelming loan spell at Wolfsburg, but now he is an Anfield hero with the crowd singing his name. "He played exceptionally well," said Klopp. "He was bril- liant, a proper threat." The first salvo in another thrilling title race? With City having amassed 198 points in the past two cam- paigns - their tallies of 100 in 2017-18 and 98 in 2018-19 are the highest totals recorded in the Premier League - Klopp will know his team can afford few slips. Liverpool surrendered a sev- en-point lead last season, a run of four draws in six Premier League games in February and March allowing Pep Guardio- la's team back into the race. The title contest went to the last day of the season, of course, in no small part be- cause Klopp's team began 2018-19 superbly. Just as they did against Nor- wich on Friday, 12 months ago Liverpool started their cam- paign in style, thrashing West Ham 4-0, a result which was the beginning of a six-game winning run to kick off the sea- son, a sequence which firmly established the Reds as title contenders. They may need to repeat - or even surpass - the levels of con- sistency that saw them win 30 of their 38 games last season if they are to triumph come May. "We lost a little bit of con- centration," said Klopp when talking about Norwich's goal, managing to find room for im- provement in a largely impres- sive display. It was just as well Liverpool were in such devastating form in front of goal because Nor- wich were a threat, having 12 shots in total and five on target in a performance which offered plenty of encouragement for their manager Daniel Farke, in an attacking sense at least. But the Reds, although not at their peak, continued where they left off last season. Attacking full-backs Alexan- der-Arnold and Andrew Rob- ertson were vital in terms of the number of assists they pro- vided, and they found space to cause Norwich problems. Alexander-Arnold's pass for Origi's goal was sublime, Joe Gomez made a welcome first league start of 2019 in defence, and Jordan Henderson gave another whole-hearted perfor- mance in midfield. There was the odd nega- tive, including Alisson's injury and Teemu Pukki's goal. Bra- zil keeper Alisson damaged a calf after slipping while taking a goal-kick and had to be re- placed by new signing Adrian, the former West Ham United stopper. "He couldn't carry on - that's not a good sign," added Klopp. "We will have to see how much [time he is out for]." That negative aside, this was the ideal start to a season Liv- erpool hope will, finally, end in domestic glory. Liverpool 4-1 Norwich: Reds make ideal start to Premier League title bid Divock Origi: Liverpool forward celebrates a goal in the season-opening win over Norwich