A brisk November evening at a compact Kenilworth Road set the scene for a first meeting between these sides since 2008. The size of the host’s stadium has little in common with the size of their hearts however, with Luton in little mood to submit in front of their illustrious opponents.
Even Darwin Núñez smashing his effort onto the top of the crossbar early on did little to deter the Hatters, who fought back with a chance of their own after some fine work from Chiedozie Ogbene saw him round Trent Alexander-Arnold.
A fast-paced opening eventually settled, with Luton drawing the battle lines inside their own half as the visitors began to lay siege. Klopp’s charges were smelling blood, and after several more half-chances went wayward, a fantastic Thomas Kaminski stop denied Liverpool a first-half opener via Diogo Jota’s side-footed effort.
Having failed to win on any of their trips to promoted sides last season, some may have wondered if Liverpool nerves were jangling.
And whilst fireworks lit up the sky from outside the stadium, the frustrated visitors were clearly lacking a spark with Rob Edwards’ men happy to make Liverpool lives as difficult as possible.
It wasn’t entirely one-way traffic however, and Luton began to counter with more intent as the minutes ticked by.
Luton have scored six of their nine Premier League goals this season beyond the 80th minute and they threatened to put on another late show when Ogbene again ghosted past Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konaté before forcing Alisson Becker into a smart save.
Klopp responded by ringing the changes and after substitute Cody Gakpo flicked an effort wide, Núñez missed his most guilt-edged chance, firing over from just yards out.
With the visitors threatening a goal, it was Luton who struck in dramatic circumstances, as Tahith Chong rounded off a swift counter attack amidst Liverpool cries for a penalty-kick.
The drama hadn’t finished in a memorable game however, as Díaz lept high to rescue a point for his side in the final minutes.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Thomas Kaminski (Luton Town)
