Liverpool Under 23s boss Neil Critchley on his young squad and Shrewsbury Town

Liverpool Under 23s boss Neil Critchley believes his players have what it takes to compete against Shrewsbury in next Tuesday’s FA Cup 4th round replay.

Jurgen Klopp announced that no senior players would take part in the FA cup tie and that Critchley would take charge against Shrewsbury after their 2-2 draw. 

Last night, The Reds’ academy side fought back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 against Wolves in the Premier League International Cup thanks to goals from striker Joe Hardy and 16-year-old Harvey Elliott.

A number of players that have had first team experience in Cup games this season with the like of Pedro Chirivella, Neco Williams and Ki-Jana Hoever as well as Elliott who scored an incredible bicycle kick.

Post-match thoughts

After the game Critchley gave his thoughts on the game, saying: 

“I thought it was a really good game, entertaining game. The people who came would’ve enjoyed watching both teams play.”

“For long spells we were very good. Unfortunate to be 2-0 down but I thought we showed great character and perseverance to come back to 2-2. We then had chances to make it 3-2. I thought we managed that period of the game well till the very last team of the game,” said Critchley.

With Klopp having said there shall be no senior squad members involved next Tuesday, Critchley believed there was a number of players that gave themselves a good chance of getting a first senior appearance.

In particular, a midfield pairing including Leighton Clarkson who featured from the bench when Critchley took charge of the Carabao Cup tie against Aston Villa in December.

“I thought the two younger boys next to Pedro in the middle of the pitch stepped up to play for the Under 23s, Leighton Clarkson and Jake Cain.

“I thought their influence on the game grew. I thought those two were good, especially Jake who had some outstanding moments.  I thought there was some really good performances from us tonight right across the pitch.”

Liverpool fought back with two goals in two minutes early in the second-half and Critchley feels the senior experience of the squad was a big contributing factor.

“That experience showed tonight. We didn’t panic when we went down, we kept playing the same way and kept doing the way we believe in. I think that showed in the players. Near the end of the game I thought we managed the last 15 minutes very well until the last kick of the game.”

Critchley continued: “I thought we were calm I didn’t feel like we were under too much pressure but you know you’re only one moment and one kick away from going out of the competition which is what nearly happened. That little bit of experience helped us in the end of the game tonight.” 

“It’s obviously difficult to emulate our first team but it’s important we work towards how they play with similar principles. If our players do get a chance to play with them or train with them which a lot of those boys have then it’s important, they are familiar with the training, the sessions and what they’re being asked to do.

“It’s our job to prepare them for that and we don’t want them to fail when they get there. It can’t be alien to them, it doesn’t always look like the first team as they have world class players but I think if you watched us tonight, you’d go away saying you could see a similarity between the two teams.

“Depends what you think next Tuesday is classed as against Shrewsbury. First team game but I'm sure some of these players will be involved even though we do have a game against Arsenal on Saturday to play before then so that's our main focus at the moment.”

Ones to watch

A number of players stood out for the visitors last night with many of them in line to feature against Shrewsbury next Tuesday. Here are the key players to look out for:

Ki-Jana Hoever

The versatile Dutch defender that can play in the centre or on the right hand side showed his class against Wolves yesterday. He displayed a great range of passing to spread the play throughout the game and also worked hard in defence, sweeping up well with pace to burn. 

He has been included in a number of Klopp’s matchday and shows a number of qualities that suit the system that the German wants to play. Definitely a bright future ahead.

Pedro Chirivella

The beating heart of the Liverpool side with work that mostly went unnoticed.  The captain of the side showed great leadership throughout, controlling the tempo of the play when his side needed to get a hold of the game. The spaniard worked hard for his side and showed of some great vison with a wonderful 40 yard half volley through ball to the feet of striker Hardy.

Has the potential to be a future captain of whichever side he plays for.

Neco Williams

Having featured in a number of cup games for Klopp, the Welshman was a standout player for the Under 23s as he caused havoc down the right. He possesses passing similar to that of Trent Alexander Arnold and is incredibly accurate. He liked to take on the defender and got a number of balls into the Wolves box that caused danger.  The right-back showed solidarity in defence with him barely being dribbled past throughtout the 90 minutes.

Lots of potential and should be challenging in the senior squad in coming seasons.

Liam Millar

One of the lesser known youngsters compared to previously mentioned names, Canadian Millar was on of Liverpool’s most dangerous players. The Wolves’ defence struggled to contain him down the left flank with a number of surging runs.  He was constantly looking to get on the ball and drive forward throughout and was rewarded as he contributed to the assist of the first goal by Hardy.

Harvey Elliott

Possibly the most high-profile player for Liverpool last night, Elliott constantly looked a threat. He may not have had the success when taking on the Wolves’ defence as he may have liked but drew players in with the threat he presented leaving space for the likes of Williams to run into. The 16-year-old's goal was out of the top draw and showed perseverance to keep going when he wasn’t suceeding.

He’ll be a key player on Tuesday and will want to impress infront of the Anfield crowd. 

Honourable mentions

Midfielder Clarkson showed good vision in midfield and wasn’t afraid to shoot with a number of stinging efforts.

Sepp Van Den Berg was solid at the back, worked hard and was calm in possession. Couldn’t do much on an individual basis to stop the two Wolves’ goals.