Liverpool’s teens hurt by Wolves

A makeshift Liverpool team containing three teenagers making their senior debuts were beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 in the third round of the FA Cup yesterday, with a 30m strike by Ruben Neves sealing the win.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp showed where the competition ranked on the English Premier League leaders’ list of priorities by leaving star forwards Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino on the bench until the 70th minute, and they failed to have an impact after coming on.

“I changed a lot because I thought we had to, not because I wanted to,” said Klopp, who justified fielding a weakened team by saying some key players were absent because of illness or “little problems”.

Klopp, who also used the wind as a reason for his team’s below-par display at Molineux, has yet to progress beyond the fourth round of the FA Cup in his four seasons in charge of Liverpool.

Klopp started midfielders Rafael Camacho and Curtis Jones — aged 18 and 17 respectively — and sent on another debutant in 16-year-old Dutchman Ki-Jana Hoever in the sixth minute after centre back Dejan Lovren sustained a hamstring injury.

Hoever, at 16 years and 354 days, became the youngest Liverpool player in FA Cup history and the third-youngest to make a senior appearance for the team.

Only in the second half did Liverpool find their stride. Xherdan Shaqiri came closest to forcing a replay when he curled in a free kick that was tipped on to the post by Wolves goalkeeper John Ruddy.

Liverpool have won the competition seven times but not since 2006. The Reds lead the league by four points after 21 games and are through to the round of 16 in the Champions League, with those two major competitions Liverpool’s only chance of silverware this season.