After the hard-fought win over Sheffield United to restore their 13 points lead at the summit of the English Premier League, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp made nine changes to his regular 11 when they lined up against Everton in the Emirates FA Cup. Takumi Minamino, Nathaniel Phillips and substitute Yasser Larouci all debuted as Liverpool clinched a narrow 1-0 win thanks to 18-year-old Curtis Jones.
The teenager grabbed central stage with a magnificent curling 25 yard drive that eluded the outstretched hands of Jordan Pickford in goal as it arced into the top corner at 72nd minute.
Everton’s manager Carlo Ancelotti played his strongest team, he clearly wanted the win and was disappointed at his team’s lackluster display and squandered opportunities especially in the first half with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mason Holgate and Richarlison failing to beat the Liverpool keeper Adrian from good scoring positions.
“The line-up of Liverpool didn’t affect our idea of how to play,” he said. “We knew that Liverpool put in fresh players and that the intensity could be a high intensity, so I think the defeat arrived because we were not able to keep the intensity in the second half.
“We lost energy, we lost confidence, we were not able to build up quick from the back.
“We are going to speak and work together to find a solution to help improve the team. I know we have to work.”
Jürgen Klopp was quite pleased with his young side. It puts a bit of a lid on speculations that Liverpool do not have the depth of Manchester City and that the team would probably crumble without their deadly frontline of Salah, Mane and Firmihno.
“I saw a sensationally good performance of a not very experienced team with a lot of players playing for the first time on this kind of stage, in front of this crowd, against the opponent. It was outstanding. I loved it – I loved each second of this game.
“If you want to be a Liverpool player, you have to respect the principles of this club. We cannot always play the best football in the world but we can fight like nobody else if we want. And as long as we use our principles, we will be a difficult opponent to play against.”
The FA Cup continues tomorrow as 13 times champion Arsenal faces Leeds United with a lot of pundits expecting a giant-killing in that one.