The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Villa show no mercy to book semi-final berth
Youngest side in Liverpool’s history blown away before half-time
Aston Villa routed Liverpool 5-0 to take their place in the Carabao Cup semifinals, yet the youngest Reds line-up in the club’s history was far from disgraced.
With Jurgen Klopp and his entire first-team squad on Club World Cup duty in Qatar this week, it was an unrecognisable Liverpool side that took to the Villa Park pitch, comprised entirely of academy players, and with five making their senior debuts.
In the end, it was a Villa “reserve” team that eased into the last-four courtesy of first-half goals from Conor Hourihane, an own goal from Morgan Boyes, two for Jonathan Kodjia and a second-half strike from Wesley.
With an average age of 19, and under the guidance of Under-23 coach Neil Critchley, Liverpool’s youngsters started brightly and Villa were indebted to goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, initially pulling off a one-handed save to deny Harvey Elliott and then using his left leg to divert wide a toe-poked effort from Herbie Kane.
Against the run of play Villa, showing 10 changes to the team beaten 2-0 by Sheffield United in the Premier League on Saturday, grabbed the opener in the 14th minute as Hourihane’s low free-kick found its way past goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Three minutes later an Ahmed Elmohamady’s cross nicked off the boot of the unfortunate Boyes, with the ball sailing over Kelleher for 2-0.
Two goals from Kodjia in the final eight minutes of the first half killed off the visitors’ challenge.
The striker’s first was a deft flick past an advancing Kelleher after Jota had teed him up for his first goal since May.
The second was a sidefoot finish from six yards that was the culmination of an incisive move involving roving winger Jota and Elmohamady.
Villa’s fifth came in added time at the end of the game as Wesley, who had replaced Kodjia, ran on to a Trezeguet ball to stroke it past Kelleher.