Liverpool saw off Southampton to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Lewis Koumas marked his debut in style by breaking the deadlock shortly before half-time with a sweeping strike from Bobby Clark’s cut-through.
The Reds extended their lead late in the second half as Jayden Danns also opened his account by chipping the ball past an advancing Joe Lumley.
Danns doubled his tally in the closing stages by pouncing on the rebound after the visitors’ goalkeeper saved a Conor Bradley effort in front of The Kop.
Jurgen Klopp’s side now face a trip to Manchester United on March 17.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
The kids are still alright
Even before kick-off, Anfield had been gearing up for a youth salute.
Liverpool’s academy ball-boys took it in turns to parade the freshly won Carabao Cup trophy around the stadium’s perimeter to widespread cheers.
On the pitch, too, the Kirkby nerve centre was taking centre-stage once more.
Given the exertions of last weekend at Wembley, Jurgen Klopp could be forgiven for harnessing expectations around this FA Cup fifth round tie.
But for Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns, there would be not let-up as they lived out dream scenarios of scoring their first senior goals in the red shirt.
The Wales youth international opened his account after Bobby Clark teed him up while his replacement basked in The Kop’s acclaim with a maiden brace.
Danns’ double, too, contained academy fingerprints in Conor Bradley’s spilled effort that paved the way for his dinked finish to seal a scrapbook moment.
Trey Nyoni’s late outing as the Reds’ youngest FA Cup debutant, and joint third in the all-time list, became another feather in the homegrown crop’s cap.
By then, chants of ‘We only played the kids’ had already gone up several times over. That approach is continuing to reap very handsome rewards.
Kelleher deserves his dues
Caoimhin Kelleher must wonder what more he could have done to claim the Man of the Match accolade after being overshadowed in successive games.
He had already played to second fiddle at Wembley to Virgil van Dijk’s extra-time exploits before Danns’ impressive cameo left him in the shade again.
There should, however, be a greater appreciation of Kelleher’s goalkeeping ability after producing another clean sheet to keep out a resilient Saints side.
Granted, Russell Martin’s promotion hopefuls had made widespread changes but they were still capable of giving Liverpool several scares in the first half.
Kamaldeen Sulemana proved a regular thorn in the side, notably when as he dispossessed Harvey Elliott early on and crashed an effort against the post.
The Saints’ winger continued to test Kelleher with an array of shots either side of the interval until he was finally withdrawn shortly before the hour mark.
During Alisson’s absence, Kelleher has evolved greatly since the heroics in the 2022 Carabao Cup final which firmly propelled him into Kopites’ thoughts.
His only misfortune is that, in games such as this, the sublime shot-stopping that kept Sulemana and Co. at bay tends to be a sidebar to the headline act.
More trophies, more problems?
If Liverpool are to take their latest quadruple bid as far as feasibly possible, a quarter-final trip to Manchester United is a less-than-ideal next destination.
Old Trafford will see a clash of the titans next month as the country’s two most successful teams slug it out to secure their place for a Wembley preamble.
That looming trip across the East Lancs Road also poses more challenges than simply a head-to-head with a fellow heavyweight of English football.
A heavily condensed fixture list means Liverpool will face the Red Devils on March 17, three days after a Europa League last-16 tie with Sparta Prague.
There is also the small matter of fitting in the Merseyside derby, postponed as a by-product of Wednesday’s win, some time in an already convoluted April.
Not that Klopp will see any extended run towards more silverware as a barrier to his ongoing demand that his players ‘just go for it’ with all that they have.
Still, the Liverpool manager will need to formulate a contingency plan should injuries show no signs of abating while games continue to come thick and fast.