It may never be pretty but there is still so much to admire about Luton. Rob Edwards’ side looked like they were heading for a seismic victory courtesy of substitute Tahith Chong’s late goal until Luis Díaz came off the bench to steal the headlines and a point for Liverpool in injury time.
Having stayed in it thanks to a brilliant performance from their goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski and the erratic nature of Darwin Núñez’s finishing, Luton’s players could be proud of their display against such illustrious opponents. But in the week that his father was kidnapped in Colombia, it had to be Díaz who came to Liverpool’s rescue and he unveiled a T-shirt with the message “Libertad para papa” – “Freedom for dad” in celebration.
His presence in the matchday squad had been a welcome boost for Jürgen Klopp, who left it open to the Colombia international whether he felt right to take part after a week waiting anxiously for news. A statement from his father’s kidnappers, the National Liberation Army (ELN), in the early hours of Sunday morning confirmed that he would be released “as soon as possible”.
Klopp sprang a surprise by leaving out Kostas Tsimikas and preferring Joe Gomez at left-back in the only change to the side that beat Nottingham Forest last week, while Andros Townsend was handed his first start for Luton since signing a short-term deal. Liverpool’s last visit to these parts was an FA Cup tie in 2008 that ended in a 1-1 draw, although Kevin Blackwell’s side were subsequently hammered 5-0 in the replay at Anfield. But despite picking up their only point here in the draw against Wolves back in September, this Luton side has been building in confidence and relished the chance to cause an upset in front of their passionate supporters.
An early effort from the former Everton midfielder Ross Barkley that forced Alisson into the first save of the game was a signal of their attacking intent, with opposite number Kaminski then denying Núñez from similar range during a frenetic opening period. Núñez was inches away from scoring with an audacious effort that clipped the angle of post and crossbar after he raced on to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long pass.
The Manchester City loanee Issa Kaboré should have done better when a cross from the lively Chiedozie Ogbene found him unmarked at the back post but the Luton wing-back blazed well over. It needed another strong save from Kaminski to keep out Núñez again soon afterwards, before Mohamed Salah had his first sighter of goal following a free-kick but could not hit the target to the delight of the home fans.
Luton’s disciplined defensive shape makes them a hard nut to crack and despite enjoying more than 80% of possession, Liverpool had to wait until 10 minutes before the break to summon up their best opportunity of the first half. A lovely touch from Ryan Gravenberch set up Diogo Jota on the edge of the box but once again Kaminski was equal to the shot.
Barkley was next to try his luck at the other end but his effort lacked direction and smacked into the roof of the stand behind the goal where the travelling supporters were positioned. Having already been booked for a foul on the Luton striker, Ibrahima Konaté then inexplicably tried to trick his way past Carlton Morris and almost gifted him the ball, only for Marvelous Nakamba to earn a booking of his own after sliding in on Alexis Mac Allister.
Liverpool hadn’t beaten Luton here in the league since 1987, having failed in their four previous attempts. Given the way they started the second half, it seemed optimistic that the run would be ended as the hosts continued to frustrate their more illustrious opponents. Mac Allister’s frustration boiled over and he was shown a yellow card for bringing down Townsend – a fifth of the season which rules the Argentina midfielder out of next week’s trip to Brentford.
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Alisson had to come to their rescue when a powerful run down the left flank from Ogbene saw the Republic of Ireland forward hold off the challenge of Alexander-Arnold and set up Morris, with the Liverpool goalkeeper just managing to divert his shot wide with his leg.
Klopp had clearly seen enough and made a triple substitution, with Harvey Elliott immediately setting up Cody Gakpo but the Dutchman could not direct his volley on target. Only Núñez will know how he then managed to miss the target from two yards out after being set up by a cushioned header from Salah that left Klopp with his head in his hands.
The Liverpool manager was shown a yellow card for protesting when a VAR check against the Luton defender Teden Mengi did not result in a penalty. There was worse to come for him when Kaboré broke free down the right flank and picked out Chong to slide home and send the home supporters into raptures. But their celebrations were short-lived when Díaz headed home from Elliot’s cross.