Jurgen Klopp gave his young team a pep-talk before Liverpool’s penalty shootout win over Derby County on Wednesday.
The Reds manager put out a very youthful side against the League One club at Anfield, with five teenagers in the starting line-up. By the time the penalties rolled around, there was a little more experience on the pitch. But it was still a young team.
As a result, they needed a little geeing up from the manager. And as seen on the Inside Anfield series on Liverpool FC’s YouTube channel, Klopp obliged.
“So far so good, and now we bring it over the line. Come on, boys!” roared the Liverpool coach, after a lengthier, but inaudible message.
The motivation from Klopp did the trick. A Caoimhin Kelleher inspired Reds won the shootout to advance to the last-16. Their prize? A trip to the Etihad to take on Manchester City.
Liverpool heading to City in round four
Perhaps it shouldn’t have been, but it was a surprise to see Klopp acting so passionately ahead of the spot-kicks.
In the list of Liverpool’s priorities this season, the Carabao Cup ranks as a lowly fourth. With the postponement of fixtures earlier in the season potentially causing a backlog of games later on, it may have even suited them to go out.
But that isn’t in Klopp, or Liverpool’s nature. Not in-front of a full Anfield against a side two divisions below them. Losing was not an option. Thankfully, the young Reds pulled through.
One of the main appeals of the Carabao Cup is that it gives these youngsters valuable first team minutes. That we’ll get to see more of the likes of Ben Doak is reason enough to be happy about progression to the next round.
Unfortunately, the identity of Liverpool’s next round opponents might put paid to that, though. You can’t see Klopp heading to City with anything like the same kind of team from Wednesday.
If he does, it’ll be a long old night in Manchester. City’s squad is notoriously deep and notoriously expensively assembled. Even their B-team contains players who have been bought for £40m or £50m.
As Klopp has recently pointed out – Liverpool can’t really compete with that. But with the game scheduled to take place just days after the World Cup final, perhaps both teams will resist putting the big guns out.
Either way, you’d probably make the winner of next month’s game the favourite to win the competition outright.
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