And for their next trick, Liverpool advance into the FA Cup quarter-finals thanks to two 18-year-olds who were due to be playing Leeds in the FA Youth Cup semi-final on Thursday and fielding the youngest player to appear in the competition in the club’s history. The Liverpool academy’s pursuit of the quadruple goes on.
Lewis Koumas, the child of ex-Tranmere and Welsh football player Jason, along with Jayden Danns, the offspring of former Crystal Palace midfielder Neil, scored the winning goals that secured their team a spot in the last eight and a chance to play against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup.
The Kop chanted “It has been some time since we won a trophy” after seeing two 18-year-olds from Liverpool score in the same game, a first for the team. Not only did Jürgen Klopp lead the team to victory in the first trophy of the season with young players, but he also brought 16-year-old Trey Nyoni in for his debut in the FA Cup, breaking a record in the process.
Southampton created more than enough chances to have derailed Klopp’s hopes of finishing his Liverpool reign with another trip to Wembley. But they lacked the quality, conviction and composure in front of goal shown by Koumas on his full Liverpool debut and Danns in scoring his first two goals for his boyhood club.
Klopp likened Liverpool’s young players to Luke Littler, citing them as the latest sensation in darts. He cautioned against excessive praise, urging others to let them continue developing as they still have much to learn. However, Klopp also acknowledged their exceptional talents.
“It is not the norm for an 18-year-old [Danns], who was very composed, to enter that type of situation and score a chip shot. The outlook isn’t too bleak. Let’s not overlook this when the transfer window opens – let’s keep the door open for these young players. However, the true hero is Joe Gomez. Joe saved us and the youth players kept us in the competition. I have the utmost admiration for him.”
Gomez played as the central midfielder alongside two other young players, Bobby Clark and James McConnell, on either side. Due to injuries, Klopp once again relied on the team’s young talent, with Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo joining their ranks. Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah were also in the starting lineup, while Koumas made his first full appearance as a left attacking player for Liverpool.
Southampton’s coach, Russell Martin, made several changes not because he had to, but because he wanted to improve the team’s chances of promotion. While some may have criticized him for resting eight players after their loss to Millwall on Saturday, it was justified by the strong performance of his team. They should have been in the lead by a comfortable margin before Liverpool was able to catch up.
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Klopp acknowledged that the beginning was chaotic, saying, “They attempted to press because they know that’s what I want them to do, but the execution was terrible.”
Kamaldeen Sulemana was the first to demonstrate Southampton’s lack of efficiency, hitting a shot off the post early on. Although Sékou Mara scored after 29 seconds, it was disallowed for being offside. Mara had another opportunity moments later when he stole the ball from McConnell, but his shot was stopped by Liverpool’s keeper.
Joe Rothwell dribbled skillfully into open space in the box, but his shot missed the target by a significant margin. Sulemana also had a great chance, utilizing his speed to escape from Bradley and Quansah, but was unable to get past Republic of Ireland’s goalkeeper. His gentle side-foot shot was directly at Kelleher, resulting in a missed opportunity.
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Koumas, making his debut, scored his first goal for Liverpool by taking advantage of the visitors’ missed opportunities. Receiving a pass from Clark near the edge of the penalty area, the young player maneuvered past Jack Stephens and scored a precise low shot that deflected off Jan Bednarek and into the bottom corner. Goalkeeper Joe Lumley was unable to make a save.
Southampton kept generating better chances but lost momentum in the last 15 minutes and failed to take advantage of them. Sulemana, Bednarek, Joe Aribo, and Shea Charles all missed opportunities to tie the game before Liverpool secured their victory.
The subsequent goal for Liverpool was inevitable due to the level of skill displayed and the age of the player who scored it. It was a result of Smallbone, a substitute for Southampton, making an error and passing the ball directly to Elliott, who took advantage and scored.
Elliott, who is relatively experienced for a 20-year-old on the Liverpool team, played a perfectly timed pass to Danns, who then executed a brilliant finish over Lumley as he approached, earning himself his first goal at the senior level.
Danns’s second arrived after Lumley parried Bradley’s shot back into the danger zone and the striker reacted quickest to convert into an empty net. “To come on and score at the Kop end is unreal, it doesn’t feel real to me,” said Danns. “It feels like I’m in a movie.”
Source: theguardian.com
