Liverpool 1-0 Everton, FA Cup third round: 'Sensationally good' Reds please Klopp - BBC Sport
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says his team's performance was "sensationally good" as Curtis Jones' stunning winner earned the Reds an FA Cup victory over Everton.
Last updated on .From the section FA Cup

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said his team's performance was "sensationally good" as Curtis Jones' stunning winner earned the Reds a fully deserved FA Cup third-round victory and extended Everton's miserable record of Anfield failure.

The German made nine changes from the side that increased their Premier League lead to 13 points with victory over Sheffield United on Thursday - including three debutants in Takumi Minamino, Nathaniel Phillips and substitute Yasser Larouci.

And it was 18-year-old Jones who grabbed the Merseyside derby glory with a magnificent curling 25-yard drive that eluded the outstretched arms of Everton keeper Jordan Pickford as it arced into the top corner after 71 minutes. The Toffees remain without a win at their rivals since September 1999.

Klopp said: "I saw a sensationally good performance of a not very experienced team with a lot of players playing for the first time on this kind of stage, in front of this crowd, against the opponent. It was outstanding. I loved it - I loved each second of this game.

"If you want to be a Liverpool player, you have to respect the principles of this club. We cannot always play the best football in the world but we can fight like nobody else. And as long as we use our principles, we will be a difficult opponent to play against."

The Reds boss had the luxury of resting superstars such as Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk, survived the early loss through injury of James Milner, and yet still saw his side fully merit their place in the fourth round.

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti played virtually his strongest available side but the visitors paid for a lacklustre display and a succession of missed opportunities in the first half, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mason Holgate and Richarlison saw efforts saved by Liverpool keeper Adrian.

The Italian blamed a drop in his side's performance level during the match.

"The line-up of Liverpool didn't affect our idea of how to play," he said. "We knew that Liverpool put in fresh players and that the intensity could be a high intensity, so I think the defeat arrived because we were not able to keep the intensity in the second half.

"We lost energy, we lost confidence, we were not able to build up quick from the back.

"We are going to speak and work together to find a solution to help improve the team. I know we have to work."

The fourth-round draw takes place on Monday at 19:35 GMT on BBC One and the iPlayer, before Arsenal's game against Leeds.
• None Curtis Jones: Has Liverpool teen had his 'Rooney moment'?
• None Watch all of the latest FA Cup highlights
• None Where will the third-round shocks be? Ladhood star Liam Williams takes on Lawro
• None How to follow FA Cup third round on the BBC

Liverpool are the team who have forgotten how to lose - and they were playing an Everton side who have long forgotten how to win at Anfield.

Klopp took no chances with his big players but the Reds still had too much energy for this laboured Everton team.

Divock Origi added physicality up front but it was the likes of Jones and 16-year-old Harvey Elliott who epitomised the host club's victory - along with 22-year-old central defender Nathaniel Phillips, effectively brought back from a loan spell at Stuttgart to play in this game.

It was a moment of genius from Jones, born two years after Everton last won at Anfield, that made the difference before Liverpool closed out the victory with maturity and without problems from a bitterly disappointing Everton.

They even survived the blow of losing Milner in the opening minutes, depriving Klopp of one of his most experienced players. In the event, it just gave another teenager, Yasser Larouci, his chance to shine.

Klopp and his players took the acclaim in front of the Kop after the final whistle as Liverpool's dream season continues.

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti now knows the full extent of the job he must undertake at Goodison Park.

This was as embarrassing as it gets for Everton, outmanoeuvred and beaten by what was more or less a Liverpool reserve team.

And for many players whose names are on this loss, it will surely prove to be a watershed moment and the beginning of the end of their careers at the club.

Gylfi Sigurdsson, at £45m, was a lightweight passenger in midfield, too easily shrugged off the ball, outpaced and deservedly substituted - he looked heavy-legged and unfit for purpose.

Morgan Schneiderlin has been out injured but he was also miles off the pace, while Theo Walcott produced an absolute horror show of a performance, riddled with dreadful decisions and cheap concession of possession.

True, it took a magnificent strike for Liverpool to clinch their place in the fourth round and Everton squandered so many first-half chances but this was what the visitors' effort, or lack of it, deserved.

On this day, when presented with a below-strength Liverpool, Everton were exposed as faint-hearted and lacking in stomach for the fight.

This was a grim chapter - the only forward-looking note being that Ancelotti has been given a rapid reminder of exactly why Everton paid so much to bring him to Goodison Park.

Toffees toppled again in the third round - stats
• None Liverpool remain unbeaten in their past 23 home games against Everton in all competitions (W13 D10); they have beaten the Toffees twice at Anfield in the same season for the first time since the 1986-87 campaign.
• None Everton have never won away to Liverpool in the FA Cup in six attempts (D4 L2).
• None Liverpool have progressed from the FA Cup third round in eight of their past nine seasons, failing only in 2018-19 thanks to a 2-1 defeat at Wolves.
• None Everton have been eliminated in the FA Cup third round in four of the past six campaigns, as many as in the preceding 20 seasons.
• None Liverpool have won 23 of their past 25 home games in all competitions (D2), keeping a clean sheet in each of their past five matches at Anfield.
• None Origi has been directly involved in six goals in his five home Merseyside derby appearances against Everton, scoring five and assisting Jones' winner.
• None Liverpool named three teenagers in their starting XI for a Merseyside derby (Harvey Elliott, Neco Williams and Jones) for the first time since October 2012 (Raheem Sterling, Suso and Andre Wisdom), a 2-2 draw in the Premier League at Goodison Park under Brendan Rodgers. Indeed, the Reds had not started a single teenager in any of their previous 10 meetings with Everton in all competitions before today.

The Reds are at Tottenham on Saturday 11 January (17:30 GMT) and the Toffees host Brighton (15:00 GMT) on the same day.
• None Attempt missed. Moise Kean (Everton) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Djibril Sidibé with a cross.
• None Offside, Everton. Yerry Mina tries a through ball, but Richarlison is caught offside.
• None Attempt blocked. Divock Origi (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Curtis Jones.
• None Attempt saved. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Divock Origi.
• None Attempt missed. Morgan Schneiderlin (Everton) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right following a corner.
• None Attempt blocked. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Curtis Jones.
• None Goal! Liverpool 1, Everton 0. Curtis Jones (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Divock Origi.
• None Attempt saved. Divock Origi (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Yasser Larouci. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page