Liverpool 2 Leeds United 0: Ben Woodburn becomes the Reds’ youngest ever goalscorer to see off a determined Leeds side
Two second half goals were enough for Liverpool to see off a Leeds United side who had chances to win the game
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LIVERPOOL managed to come through against a tough Leeds side thanks to second half goals from Divock Origi and Ben Woodburn.
Liverpool dominated the ball in the opening minutes but the best chance of the first half fell to the visitors when Hadi Sacko beat the offside trap but his shot was saved by Simon Mignolet.
Georginio Wijnaldum registered the first shot on target for the Reds after the Dutchman was unmarked but his shot was acrobatically saved by Marco Silvestri, who was picked ahead of Rob Green.
Kalvin Phillips was brought on to replace the injured Eunan O'kane and he nearly gifted Liverpool the lead after Emre Can latched on to his weak backpass to keeper but his effort rolled wide.
In the second half Leeds came agonisingly close to scoring after Liverpool were caught in possession in defence but Kemar Roofe's long-shot curled and hit the post.
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Liverpool took the lead on 76 minutes through Divock Origi after he arrived at the near post to tap home Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross.
Four minutes later the Reds doubled their lead through 17-year-old academy graduate Woodburn who was waiting at the back post before firing in his goal in front of the Kop.
Woodburn's goal made him Liverpool's youngest ever goalscorer at 17 years and 45 days.
Leeds kept coming at the Reds in final stages of the game but they could not find the back of the net.
FACTS, STATS GOALS & LOLS
- It was a terrific atmosphere at Anfield with 6,000 travelling Leeds fans being part of the of the 52,012 supporters in attendance
- The last time Liverpool played Leeds in the Carling Cup in 2009, Trent Alexander-Arnold was mascot at Elland Road, holding Jamie Carragher's hand before kick off.
- Ben Woodburn became Liverpool's youngest ever scoring player, beating Michael Owen by 100 days.
- The last time Leeds United beat Liverpool was a 2-1 win back in 2001 in the Premier League with goals from Lee Bowyer and Rio Ferdinand.
- In the last seven meetings between the two clubs before tonight, the Reds had won four and drawn three.
- Liverpool have now qualified for the semi-final of the League Cup more than any other side.
- Divock Origi loves this competition! He has scored six goals in his last six League Cup appearances.
BIG PICTURE
Next five fixtures
Liverpool
Dec 14 – Bournemouth (A) – PL
Dec 11 – West Ham (H) - PL
Dec 14 - Middlesbrough (A) - PL
Dec 19 - Everton (A) - PL
Dec 27 - Stoke City (H) - PL
Leeds United
Dec 3 - Aston Villa (H) - EFL
Dec 9 - Brighton (A) - EFL
Dec 13 - Reading (H) - EFL
Dec 17 - Brentford (H) - EFL
Dec 26 - Preston (A) - EFL
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
LIVERPOOL: Mignolet 7, Moreno 7, Klavan 7, Lucas 8, Alexander-Arnold 7, Stewart 6 (Woodburn 67, 6), Ejaria 6 (Milner 82, 6) Wijnaldum 7, Can 7, Mane 6, Origi 7 (Grujic 91, 6).
Subs not used: Karius, Clyne, Lovren, Henderson.
Booked: Origi.
Goals: Origi, Woodburn.
LEEDS UNITED: Silvestri 6, Berardi 6, Cooper 6 (Ayling 45, 6), Bartley 6, Taylor 6, Vieira 7, O'Kane 6 (Phillips 28, 5), Sacko 6, Dallas 6 (Wood 62, 6), Roofe 7, Doukara 6.
Subs not used: Green, Antonsson, Grimes, Mowatt.
Booked: Doukara.
STAR MAN: Lucas.
WHAT THEY SAID
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp on Ben Woodburn: "We all know how young he is, but it doesn't look like this in training sessions. It's a nice story and all the boys are really happy for him. everybody is smiling in the dressing room."
Leeds United manager Garry Monk said: "“I was gutted for the players. As a performance from a team that’s very young, this sets a marker.
"Albeit we’re disappointed but we’ll look back in the next few days and realise we put on a very good performance."