“We don’t expect a result, we expect a performance.”
Those were Jurgen Klopp’s words in the build-up.
- Aston Villa put five past young Liverpool
- Critchley reveals Klopp encouragement
Ten minutes into Liverpool’s Carabao Cup Quarter-final against Aston Villa, this young group of players looked in the mood to deliver both as they went for the home team at Villa Park.
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Highlights of the Carabao Cup Quarter-final between Aston Villa and Liverpool
Klopp had stressed that Neil Critchley and his players would have the support of the senior squad out in Qatar for the Club World Cup, but it was the vocal presence of the Liverpool supporters inside Villa Park that was most striking in the early stages of the contest.
There were gasps of admiration as Ki-Jana Hoever strolled away from danger, roars of approval as the – year- old Harvey Elliott ran at the Villa defense with real purpose.
The youngest Liverpool team ever. The youngest team this competition has ever seen. They were pressing and harrying in those opening moments. Herbie Kane forced a fine save from Orjan Nyland. Elliott hit the outside of the net with the follow-up shot. It was fearless stuff.
If this feels like an overreaction given how briefly parity was maintained, consider some of the stats. Liverpool not only dominated possession over the minutes but they had three times as many touches inside the box in that first half an hour and four times as many shots.
“I thought the start to the game was brilliant,” said a visibly chuffed Critchley when speaking to the media afterwards. “I thought we were actually the better team for or **************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** minutes. “
It just could not last.
Conor Hourihane curled a free-kick under the body of Caoimhin Kelleherwith one of Villa’s first attacks before Morgan Boyes’ deflection did for the goalkeeper with their second.
The young goalkeeper’s confiden ce must have taken a battering when those first two goals went in but Kelleher bounced back from that disappointment to produce a number of fine stops with hands and feet after the interval.
“He showed what a top-class goalkeeper he is and could become in the future,” said Critchley. “He pulled off some fantastic saves in the second half.”
That was enough to calm the experienced heads in an Aston Villa team bolstered by James Chester’s return from injury after 11 months out. When the third and fourth goals followed, what Dean Smith called a “weird quarter-final” could well have got out of hand.
Football League chairman Rick Parry had described this as “a very pragmatic solution that first and foremost worked for Liverpool” but it probably didn’t feel that way as Jonathan Kodjia was bearing down on goal yet again. Villa were threatening to inflict a heavy beating.
Four goals from three Villa shots at the halfway point meant that the scoreline was not a fair reflection of the game, but it was the reality for a young team under the spotlight.
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It was at that point that you were reminded of just how far these players had come .
All over the pitch there were stories. There was Tom Hill, a – year-old from Formby who has been at the club for over a decade. He was wearing the No. shirt.
Elsewhere there was Boyes and Luis Longstaff – members of the team that had won the FA Youth Cup with Liverpool in April, now taking their very first steps in senior football.
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