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Liverpool gave up a 2-0 lead and wound up being held to a 2-2 draw by Shrewsbury Town in their fourth-round tie at Montgomery Waters Meadow.
Curtis Jones opened the scoring in the 15th minute before a Donald Love own goal made it two early in the second half. The League One underdogs then bounced back courtesy of a 10-minute brace from Jason Cummings to force the replay which will take place at Anfield.
Positives
Even though this was a Liverpool side full of fringe players, they still held the same standards regarding the tempo of the game. They moved the ball around well, didn’t panic on the ball, and looked dangerous whenever they came forward.
Negatives
There was an element of sloppiness to Liverpool’s game at times, especially at the back. It felt like they thought they had the tie wrapped up which, of course, swung the door wide open for Shrewsbury to build their way back into proceedings. They also seemed to get bullied in the middle of the park as a result of the distinct lack of experience compared to the first team.
Manager rating out of 10
7 – This was the definition of an experimental starting XI from Jurgen Klopp who needed to rotate as a result of the club’s busy schedule. He didn’t need to deviate from the 4-3-3 and the team still had a great shape which, in games like this, is all you can really ask for. When they started to struggle and the hosts came back into the game, he made the necessary changes to try and swing the game back in their direction.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Adrian, 7 — The backup keeper was arguably Liverpool’s Man of the Match with great distribution to go alongside a series of high-class saves.
DF Neco Williams, 7 — The aim of Williams seemed to be surging forward and trying to create opportunities — which proved to be a success as his ball in led to Liverpool’s second goal.
DF Joel Matip, 5 — There were a few occasions in which the senior defender stepped forward and played Shrewsbury onside, and at times, he didn’t seem to be leading the team like he should have.
DF Dejan Lovren, 4 — The confident defender looked like he didn’t want to be there for most of the game, with his poor defensive work in the second half opening the door for Shrewsbury’s equaliser.
DF Yasser Larouci, 5 — He never quite seemed to be able to latch onto loose balls, and his poor challenge led to Shrewsbury winning a penalty.
MF Pedro Chirivella, 7 — His fantastic through ball to Jones led to Liverpool’s first goal of the game, with his composure and vision playing a big role in their success in midfield.
MF Fabinho, 5 — For such a senior member of the squad, it was a poor day at the office. Fabinho who constantly lost the ball, had a poor first touch and looked lethargic.
MF Curtis Jones, 7 — Produced a lovely finish to make it 1-0 Liverpool in the 15th minute and had some great timing with his runs.
FW Harvey Elliott, 6 — At the age of just 16, Elliott was composed when he tracked back but struggled with his decision-making up top — although, that’ll improve with time.
FW Divock Origi, 5 — It was a fairly quiet day at the office for the cult hero but his distribution is still up there with some of the best strikers in the league.
FW Takumi Minamino, 5 — It’s going to take a while for him to adjust to the pace of the English game, but he did seem to panic more than he probably should against a team like Shrewsbury.
Substitutes
MF Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, N/R — Looked off the pace and couldn’t cope with the intensity of Shrewsbury’s forward play.
FW Mohamed Salah, N/R — Had one or two moments but didn’t really threaten in the kind of manner you’d expect from Liverpool’s star man.
FW Roberto Firmino, N/R — The Brazilian didn’t really get a sniff and seemed to struggle with the defensive determination of the lower league outfit.