Liverpool are through to the fifth round of the FA Cup after securing a 3-1 win against Championship strugglers Cardiff City at Anfield. The result earns the Reds another home tie against Norwich City in the next round.
With Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mané unavailable due to Egypt and Senegal meeting later this evening in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, Jurgen Klopp started with Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota and Taki Minamino up front.
Naby Keita, having returned early from the same competition, and Curtis Jones played with Jordan Henderson in midfield while, in defence, Kostas Tsimikas came in for Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konaté displaced Joel Matip and Caoimhin Kelleher got the nod ahead of Alisson Becker in goal.
A strong team, with Klopp resisting the temptation to throw in youngsters – such as Tyler Morton and Kaide Gordon – as he has done in the past in cup competitions. Even so, in the first half, while dominating possession, Liverpool struggled to create chances and when they did there were some wild shots from Jones, Trent Alexander Arnold and Keita, a charitable person would excuse their efforts by blaming the blustery conditions but the Reds left the pitch after 45 minutes to silence.
Not that Liverpool fans were worried about an upset but there was a sense of an underwhelming and lacklustre Reds’ performance, with Naby Keita and Taki Minamino, in particular, failing to take their chance to impress against inferior opposition.
Straight after the restart, Kelleher, who’d had nothing to do in the first half, fell foul of the goalkeeper’s curse of itching to become involved in the game and made an ill-judged dash outside of his area to intercept a through ball and clattered into Cardiff forward Mark Harris. Only the fact that Konaté was between the forward and the goal saved the Liverpool keeper from a red card, although VAR did check to see if the contact Kelleher made with Harris amounted to serious foul play. It didn’t and the Reds’ stopper got away with a yellow.
The breakthrough came on 53 minutes when Alexander Arnold swung in a free-kick from the right and Jota on the penalty spot guided the ball perfectly into the corner of the goal.
The goal was a cue for Harvey Elliott – returning after five months out with a fractured ankle – and £37m new signing Luis Diaz to come on in place of Jones and the disappointing Keita. Both Elliott and Diaz made instant impacts, speeding the game up – Elliott with his slick, incisive, effortless, one-touch passing and play and Diaz with his pace and directness.
And it was Diaz’ quick-footedness and close control that created Liverpool’s second goal on 68 minutes. Exploiting hesitant play from Perry Ng, trying to shepherd the ball behind the goal-line, the Colombian nipped in to keep the ball in and lay it into the path of Minamino, who couldn’t miss from three yards out.
Elliot’s impressive return was crowned on 76 minutes after the Liverpool youngster controlled substitute Andy Robertson’s cross in from the left, pivoted to face goal and then powerfully struck the ball on the volley into the back of the net.
The impact of Diaz and Elliot may well spell the further marginalisation of Keita and Minamino, both of whom will now have to consider their Liverpool futures in the summer. Keita has been blighted by niggling injuries that have prevented him from a long run of games, while Minamino has never been consistently good enough for the standard of football demanded by Klopp’s Liverpool.
The return of Thiago Alcantara from injury adds to the number of opiotns Klopp has in midfield, who has to select three from the Spaniard, Henderson, Fabinho, Elliott, Diaz, James Milner, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Jones and Keita as Liverpool enter the final third of the season still in contention for four trophies.
Next up for Liverpool is a home game in the Premier League on Thursday against Leicester City, who beat the Reds 1-0 at the end of last year at the King Power Stadium, severely denting if not ending Liverpool’s title aspirations.
An away game follows against struggling Burnley next Sunday and then the first leg of the tie against Inter Milan in the Champions League, which will be played at the San Siro on 16 February.
