10 January,2021 09:25 AM IST | London | AFP
Liverpool`s Sadio Mane (right) celebrates scoring against Aston Villa during the FA Cup match in Birmingham on Friday. Pic/Getty Images
Liverpool survived a scare from COVID-19-ravaged Aston Villa to reach the FA Cup fourth round with a 4-1 win against opponents missing their entire first-team squad as the pandemic wreaks havoc on English football.
Villa fielded a raw side comprised entirely of youth academy players and were without boss Dean Smith after being hit hard by a COVID-19 outbreak earlier this week. In all, 14 unnamed Villa employees - nine players and five staff - have tested positive, forcing the Premier League club to close their training base on Thursday. Liverpool played a strong side for the third round tie at Villa Park, but Villa's youngsters acquitted themselves well. Four of Villa's starting line-up weren't even born when Liverpool midfielder James Milner made his professional debut for Leeds in 2002. But they gave Liverpool a shock when Louie Barry cancelled out Sadio Mane's opener.
Eventually, the Premier League champions' class told with a blitz of three goals in five minutes in the second half. Georginio Wijnaldum struck before Mane and Mohamed Salah sealed a first win in four games in all competitions for Jurgen Klopp's side. "We had chances and shot directly at the goalie. It was rusty but better in the second half. We have a lot players with no rhythm," said Klopp.
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