Klopp Praises Origi And Sturridge After Big Win

Six-goal performances don't come around very often, regardless of the competition. The last time Liverpool were involved in a 6-1 scoreline, they were on the wrong side of the ledger.

The last time Liverpool hung six on an opponent came during the heady days of the title run of 2014, March 22nd to be precise, a 3-6 away victory over the eventually relegated Cardiff City. That day, the strikeforce of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez combined for four goals; at no point during their famed but short-lived partnership did they combine for five.

Coming into the League Cup quarterfinal, Sturridge was still trying to play himself into some sort of fitness, while Divock Origi had shown flashes of potential but no end-product to date. What followed was a masterclass striking performance from both, with a brace for Sturridge and a hat trick for Origi.

After the match, Jürgen Klopp talked about the impressive duo at length.

"I said to [Sturridge] after the game, ‘Now I know what everyone is talking about! Thank you!'" Klopp said with a big laugh, "But of course I knew about his quality, that's not a problem. Not live in a stadium in an important tournament, but the rest I knew about. It's important for us that we have these good strikers that can react in the moments."

At this point, no one should doubt Sturridge's abilities, as his two goals were the result of perfectly-timed runs and deadly, clinical finishes. If the injury-prone striker can manage a sustained run of good health, this team will always be dangerous when he's on the pitch.

Origi on the other hand, has had a difficult start in Red. For the first 44 minutes, it appeared that his struggles would continue. Then he managed to get the slightest of deflections on Moreno's excellent volley to open up his Liverpool account, and everything changed. The other big Belgian striker exuded new-found confidence in the second half, making key runs and two more well-deserved goals to complete his first Liverpool hat trick.

For Klopp, this performance was down to the striker keeping things simple and playing within himself.

"We had a talk. We sat together; it's not too often that we [manager and player] completely agree in each thing. I said ‘You have to learn this, this and this, do this and don't do difficult things' and he said ‘Yes, I know'. He wants to show everything in the short time he's playing, that's normal."

"Everybody knew him before Liverpool bought him and everybody wanted him. He's a really big talent. But he has to learn and he has to be patient, that's the truth... Today he made his easiest game, only easy passes, used his feet, was in the game and good defending. It was really good. And he got some good crosses! It was really good from him but he's still young and he has to learn."

Suddenly, Liverpool have several options up top, and this team is looking very dangerous going forward.