Burton Albion 0, Liverpool 5: First Thoughts

• Pre-match: There's a trophy attached to this thing? Yeah? Klopp wants to win it, even if it can't even manage to get a sponsor. The Boss is staying true to his word, coming out guns a blazin'. True to his word, he only made four changes, mostly bringing in stronger players, not weaker ones. Can comes in for the Wijnaldum in midfield experiment, Origi for Sturridge, Matip for Klavan, and Mané for Coutinho. So, this should be a win, and if not there will be nowhere to hide. 
  


• Burton start the match bossing things, including a pretty decent penalty shout after Lovren clipped the heel of a Burton player. For the third time in three games Liverpool are starting slowly. Hopefully they don't continue the trend of conceding first as well today. 
  
  
• Origi latches on to a perfect through ball from Mané and creates the biggest chance for the Reds since early in the second half against Arsenal. Unfortunately his left-footed effort was straight at the keeper. 
  
  
• Another big chance left wanting! Roberto Firmino finds himself with acres of space in the middle of the box, but can't beat the keeper with his headed effort. 
  
  
• GOAL! Reasonable adults can argue whether Mané is more of a fast player or a quick player, but in this instance he showed a great deal of quick footwork to leave his marker in the dust after a James Milner cross picked him out in the box. Mané then cut to the byline and picked out Origi who finished off the move with a little back heel. The goal goes to Origi, but that was all about Mané. 1-0 to the Scousers. 
  
  
• GOAL! Gegenpressing? Gegenpressing. Liverpool break at lightning pace and with numbers after intercepting an errant throw from the Burton 'keeper. Clyne is played through out wide, and then Clyne picks out Firmino streaking into the box. This time the Brazilian makes no mistakes, burying the header. 2-0, Liverpool
  
  
• Liverpool seem to have taken their foot off the gas a bit after that second goal, failing to attack with the same sort of intensity and quick decision making that led to both goals so far. Burton haven't looked like scoring on the other end, but with our defense anything is still possible. 
  
  
• Halftime: Burton Albion had a little something brewing to start the match, but failed to produce a single shot on target, and after the first five minutes it was all one-way traffic for the Reds. Mané continues to impress, and Origi continues to look like the our best option to lead the line. Liverpool are taking care of business so far. Hopefully the Reds can finish off the second half without much fuss (and certainly without extra time). 
  
  
• Burton Albion start the second half as they started their first: on the front foot. They came out and won a couple of corners right off the bat, but were not able to capitalize. 
  
  
• 55' in and Mignolet with his first real involvement, punching a dangerous cross a good 30+ meters, clearing his lines. More of that, por favor! 
  
  
• GOAL! Can gets his head on a corner, attempting to knock it into Origi's path. Instead, he knocked into the path of Origi's defender, but the net result was the same: goal for Liverpool, 3-0. 
  
  
• Double change with Lallana and Firmino coming off for Wijnaldum and Sturridge. 
  
  
• Scary moment as Emre Can pulls up with no contact and limps off the pitch. He's had a quiet, but good night so far, and his presence has been sorely missed so far this season. Can plays for a couple of more minutes before being replaced by Kevin Stewart. Hopefully it's just precautionary, but seeing Can walk straight down the tunnel is not a good sight. 
  
  
• GOAL! Some brilliant build up at the edge of the box sees Milner and Mané play a nice 1-2, with Milner picking out Sturridge at the back post for an easy finish. 4-0 to the Reds. 
  
  
• GOAL! Mané picks out Sturridge lurking in the box, and the striker displayed his characteristic precision, easily beating the keeper at the near post for a fifth on the night. 
  
  
• Oh dear. Now it's Origi's turn to go down with an apparent injury. The striker walks to the sideline gingerly.
  
  
• Full Time: It doesn't get much easier than that. The Brewers really didn't put up much of a fight, and Liverpool are on to the next round of the Sponsorless League Cup. If nothing else, Mané displayed just how important he could be for this side, getting involved in several of the goals. Hopefully the knocks to Can and Origi prove to be minor. But it's Liverpool, so probably not.

We'll be back shortly to take an in-depth look at everything that happened in today's game with the full recap. Until then, let us know your take on the ups and downs of the match in the comments, and if you haven't already, join the community on the Liverpool Offside, where we'll have full coverage and lively in-game discussion for every match this season.