Jurgen Klopp hailed his Liverpool laaities after Sunday’s 1-0 FA Cup third-round win over derby rivals Everton.
Against Carlo Ancelotti’s Premier League-experienced starting lineup, worth a reported £220m, Klopp fielded two first-team debutants and a handful of players who only recently made their bows.
One such player, 18-year-old Curtis Jones, was the big hero of the night, scoring a wonder goal in only his third start for the Reds.
The winger curled in a pearler to decide the game with 20 minutes to play at Anfield.
EMERGING TALENT: Reds' Pedro Chirivella, left. Picture: Carl Recine/Reuters.
And an impressed Klopp says of his Kop kids: “I love it.
“I must say one thing, because everybody asks me about Curtis Jones but there were so many extremely good performances tonight.
“The goal was exceptional and the boy is an outstanding player.
“But I cannot understand why nobody asked me so far about Pedro Chirivella, Neco Williams or Yasser Larouci.
“Is this a sign we want to give the boys? You have to score, otherwise we ignore you?”
There was one sour note on the night as the most experienced man in the Liverpool side went off after just nine minutes, when veteran utility man James Milner went off with a muscle injury.
KIDS ARE OK: Everton’s Richarlison shut down. Picture: Carl Recine/Reuters.
Milner is just one of seven casualties from a busy December and New Year period, in which they won 10 off 11 games, and Klopp explains that he was not disrespecting the FA Cup, but was playing the hand he was dealt.
He says: “Two players started the last game, one of them got injured.
“That’s the situation we are in, that’s why a lot of managers make a lot of changes. It’s nothing to do with the Cup, it’s the timing.”
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