Fresh off their 10th win in the Finals of the EFL Cup against Chelsea a few days ago, Jürgen Klopp, in his final season in charge of the Reds, led Liverpool’s youngsters to take on Southampton at their home of Anfield in their endeavours in a domestic cup competition in the form of the FA Cup. To everyone’s amazement at not only the Liverpool camp, but football fans around the world, Liverpool’s youngsters once again showed their maturity and composure when given the responsibility to hold the fort for an injury-plagued Reds side, defeating the Saints with a resounding score line of 3-0 after 90 minutes plus added time in the FA Cup Fifth Round.
How Did Liverpool’s Youngsters Defeat Southampton in the FA Cup?
The 2023/2024 EFL Cup winners returned to home three days after their domestic cup triumph to face Southampton in the FA Cup Fourth Round, and Liverpool’s youngsters were able to lead the Reds to victory in a cup tie before their loyal fans. The deadlock of the game was broken in the 44th minute, and it came from one of the Liverpool’s youngsters, 18-year-old Lewis Koumas, who scored the game opener at the edge of the penalty box via a loose effort that ended in the back of the net at the bottom left corner.
With the aim of preventing the game from going into full distance twice in two matches in all competitions, Liverpool finished off Southampton with a goal from another member of the Liverpool’s youngsters Jayden Danns. The Liverpool academy graduate came onto the pitch for his FA Cup debut as a replacement to the game’s first goal scorer Koumas in the 63rd minute and offered an instant impact to Klopp’s team. The 18-year-old first converted Liverpool’s second goal from close range in the 73rd minute, followed by tapping in a rebound off the opposing goalkeeper Joe Lumley’s save two minutes before the game went into the injury time, allowing the Reds to easily win the game 3-0 at home.
After Liverpool’s youngsters gave the Reds their well-deserved victory in the FA Cup Fifth Round in 2023/2024, the Reds are set to face another English top-flight football outfit in the following round of the tournament, and this time it is their long-time rivals of Manchester United, who managed to secure a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the other domestic cup tie that took place last night. The Reds Devils, led by Dutch manager Erik ten Hag and the eventual goal scorer Casemiro, defeated Forest with a late winning goal in the 89th minute, thus setting up an intriguing clash between two fiercest nemeses in English football in the FA Cup Quarterfinals.
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Brilliant 3-0 win for Liverpool over Southampton to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.
18-year-old Lewis Koumas scored his first #LFC goal.
18-year-old Jayden Danns got a brace, his first #LFC goals.
16-year-old Trey Nyoni became the youngest player in Liverpool’s history to… pic.twitter.com/uGTAdyidNr
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) February 28, 2024
Klopp Impressed with the Impact of Liverpool’s Youngsters
Head coach Klopp certainly satisfied with Liverpool’s youngsters’ showing against Southampton yesterday, and the German went further by likening Liverpool’s youngsters to 17-year-old wonderkid in professional darts Luke Littler, who became the youngest person to emerge victorious in a match in both the WDF and PDC World Darts Championships. “It is little bit like the new darts sensation, it is fine for tonight. Tomorrow, leave the boys in the corner. Everyone who is with us, we should have our moments, they will have more moments than we expect. All of it was obviously incredibly important.”
The 56-year-old ex-Borussia Dortmund manager also added: “Against a Southampton team we would have had problems with anyway but in our situation we tried to give as much information as possible to them and we had to improve during the game. The first 15 minutes we were all over the place; we tried to press but the timing was horrendous and Southampton used that. We found a way into the game and the goal we scored was in a nearly perfect moment, it felt like a momentum change and then an exceptional finish from Lewis.”
Klopp went on to cite the importance of Liverpool’s youngsters’ to his wounded squad. “We now had the momentum rather than Southampton and won a lot of high balls and scored, the play was special, the way we won the balls was special and something like that, as impossible as it seems, can happen. Maybe the people don’t forget it when the transfer window opens, don’t close the door with 12 signings,” said Klopp. He would end the post-match press conference with his admiration for Danns, who scored a brace in the Saints game, saying “Exceptional talent. Of course it is not natural that a boy 18, is as calm as you like”.
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Where to Watch Manchester United vs. Liverpool at Old Trafford in the FA Cup Quarterfinals?
Liverpool’s last visit to the FA Cup Final was in the 2021/2023 Season, where they went on to beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties following a goalless stalemate in the full 120 minutes in the normal playing time and extra time. With their fixture in the FA Cup Last Eight being a trip to Old Trafford to face their long-time foes of Manchester United, it would be interesting to see if Klopp continues to field his Liverpool’s youngsters in the Red Devils domestic cup matchup mid-March 2024.
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