Liverpool survive Aston Villa first-half scare in FA Cup rout

Aston Villa youngsters played an impressive opening half against Liverpool in the FA Cup but it ended up in a rout.

Sadio Mane opened the scoring for Liverpool on Friday, 8 January 2021 against Aston Villa in the first four minutes. It appeared to be another routine win for the Premier League current champions especially as their opponents fielded a team made up of U-23s and U-18s.

However, 17-year-old debutant Louie Barry shocked football fans when he raced down half the field to score a controlled goal and bring Aston Villa level.

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Callum Rowe x Louie Barry! ?#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/Rr4SL7pn1r

- Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 9, 2021

See also: Aston Villa to be without first-team against Liverpool in FA Cup fixture

The excitement was tangible as Barry ran to his teammates to celebrate. After the match, he said; “My family will have been screaming at the TV. I was working very hard. When I celebrated everything came out of me. It was relief. I’ve never been so proud of a team - from start to finish we gave it our all.”

The young team’s all was not enough as Liverpool dominated the second half and scored three more goals to end the match 4-1 in their favour. Yet, the loss could not dampen the spirit of the youngsters.

Everyone at @AVFCOfficial should be extremely proud of tonight’s performance. A great effort in tough circumstances ?#AVLLIV | #FACup pic.twitter.com/70slJC7z70

- Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 8, 2021

They were happy to prove their worth and step in for their first-team players who could not feature due to Coronavirus.