Jürgen Klopp was full of praise for goalscorers Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns after they fired Liverpool into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Both youngsters scored as the Reds beat Southampton 3-0 at Anfield.
Klopp was once again forced to make changes to his side as injuries continued to take their toll following Sunday’s Carabao Cup final win. After a nervy opening 15 minutes, in which Caoimhín Kelleher was called upon on more than one occasion, Liverpool’s young side began to find its feet.
It was Koumas who broke the deadlock just before the break and set the Reds on their way. Cutting inside from the left, the Wales U19 international shot early and, thanks in part to a deflection, caught Southampton goalkeeper Joe Lumley out for his first senior goal.
And he wasn’t the only one who got their Liverpool account up and running. After being brought off the bench, Danns marked his third appearance in a week with a coolly taken goal as he lifted the ball over Lumley from Harvey Elliott’s through ball in front of the Kop.
And the 18-year-old wasn’t done there as he grabbed his second before the end, pouncing on Lumley’s save from Conor Bradley’s effort to round off the scoring. A quarter-final against Manchester United at Old Trafford now awaits next month.
“It was an incredible game,” Klopp said live on ITV Sport. “Southampton are a top side, we all saw that. Our midfield press in the first half was not the right timing.
“They tried to do what we told them but it was hard to show them. They had big chances and we had to run a lot and we needed Caoimhín to save us. We scored a wonderful goal, we tried everything before that. It was so intense and they ran themselves into the ground, we needed to find a way and we did that. The second half was much better.
“Lewis [Koumas] is a fantastic finisher but they’ve got to learn and improve. Dannsy [Jayden Danns] is quite a good finisher, the first goal was exceptional, but the goals are no different to the youth level. The second goal is just his nose. We saw that in the final; he was just a little bit unlucky. The whole end was a bit special again.
