Origi deserved his golden moment at Anfield in Watford demolition

Liverpool’s Divock Origi deserved his big goalscoring moment at Anfield on Wednesday night for the way he helped Jurgen Klopp cope with a rare change to his favoured front three.

Injury to Roberto Firmino meant Klopp had to start a Premier League game without his full complement of Mohamed Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mane for the first time since December 8.

Origi got the nod ahead of Daniel Sturridge and fully vindicated his manager’s decision by capping an unselfish performance by firing in a clever goal after 66 minutes to put Liverpool 3-0 ahead in a 5-0 romp and guarantee they stayed top of the Premier League with 10 matches left.

It was only the 23-year-old’s second Premier League start of the season and his first start at Anfield in any competition since May 2017.

More important than the goal was the willingness Origi showed in ensuring Klopp’s tactical masterplan worked.

With Firmino absent following Sunday’s goalless draw against Manchester United, Sadio Mane was given the centre-forward’s berth and Origi asked to stay on the left-hand side of a 4-3-3 where his speed and ability to run in behind defenders kept Watford right-back Daryl Janmaat busy.

Mane grabbed the headlines by scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes, both from assists by right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Klopp will have been equally delighted by the discipline showed by Origi.

There was none of the usual positional rotation Liverpool show – this time Origi was asked to hug the touchline and show good judgement whether to run to the byline or cut inside and find a team-mate. He did it unselfishly, and well.

Origi first announced himself as a teenager starring for Belgium at the 2014 World Cup. But his subsequent move to Liverpool hasn’t been showered with success. He spent last season on loan at Wolfsburg and didn’t feature for Klopp at all in this campaign until November.

A late winner against Everton at Anfield in December boosted his confidence and reputation even though it relied on a blunder by Blues goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

With Firmino ruled out after a knock sustained during Sunday’s goalless draw at Old Trafford, Origi – whose father Mike was a Kenyan international – got the call to face Watford.

Besides his normal energy, he also showed an awareness missing in his earlier Anfield career. He set up Fabinho for a 30-yard blast that went close and built up a good understanding with left-back Andy Robertson.

In the best move of the game, he cut back a pass to Salah, who in turn played in Roberston first-time before the Scot flashed a shot narrowly wide.

What Origi needed to cap off his evening was a goal – and after curling one effort into the arms of Ben Foster, it arrived after 67 minutes. Once again the forward found the ball at his feet on the left-hand side outside the penalty area.

But this time, instead of feeding a team-mate, he cut inside and with three Watford defenders converging, fired a low shot to Foster’s near post that crept in. It was his third goal of the season.

Virgil van Dijk had time to add two late goals – the first from an Alexander-Arnold’s third assist of the game. Like his team-mates, Origi fully deserved the standing ovation from The Kop at the final whistle and even heard them chanting his name.

A lot is made of Liverpool’s reliance on their famed front three but ironically, they have won all four league games in which Klopp hasn’t started with them all – against Huddersfield, Bournemouth, Burnley and now Watford.

As for Origi, who has seven goals and four assists in his last 18 league appearances, he can expect to be back on the bench for Sunday’s Merseyside derby on with Firmino tipped to return. But Everton won’t want to see him at any stage at Goodison given what happened in December.