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Accrington Stanley boss John Doolan was proud of his team’s efforts despite Liverpool running away with a 4-0 win in the FA Cup third round tie between the sides at Anfield.
It took until almost the half-hour mark for Diogo Jota to break the deadlock, but before the interval, Trent Alexander-Arnold had made it 2-0 to the Reds. Jayden Danns and Federico Chiesa then put even more of a shine to a comfortable outing in the second half as they added their names to the scoresheet.
“I enjoyed the opening 20 minutes,” Doolan told the BBC for Match of the Day. “We wish we had a bit of luck, but they’re world-class players.
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“To concede from a free kick and to counter like they do, you have to hold your hands up and take your punishment. You want a response and I thought the response was OK until you have a world-class player like Trent step up and put one in the top corner. We will lick our wounds and go again.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the players, fans and staff. It was massive and a big ask from us. When you give world-class players two yards, they can do what they do.”
Liverpool had 79 per cent of the possession on the day and created a total of 22 chances for itself. Accrington hit the bar in the second half, and former Manchester United full-back Donald Love headed wide from close range.
Liverpool.com says: Accrington played some decent stuff at times but there was never any doubt that Liverpool was going to win. That was pretty much what everyone expected which is absolutely fine for Arne Slot. His team came through without a hitch and got some vital minutes into some important player’s legs.