Liverpool hit four against Barnsley to set up Brighton tie

Liverpool battled past a spirited Barnsley side at Anfield to set up an FA Cup fourth-round tie with Brighton.

Arne Slot’s side scored twice in the first half through brilliant strikes from Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong but a calamitous moment from Szoboszlai gave the League One outfit a lifeline.

In the 40th minute, Szoboszlai attempted a backheel in his own box to keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili but scuffed it and Adam Phillips, a boyhood Liverpool fan, was on hand to finish in front of the Kop and send the 6,000 travelling fans wild.

The Tykes had a penalty shout turned down in the second half when Reyes Cleary went down in the box under a challenge from Szoboszlai. On the sideline, Barnsley boss Conor Hourihane was furious and with no video assistant referee in play for the FA Cup third round, there was no check.

Liverpool calmed the nerves late on when substitutes Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz combined, with Wirtz firing an unstoppable effort into the top corner after the France forward’s excellent backheel. The pair combined again in added time, with Ekitike sliding in to tap in at the back post.

Slot stuck to his pre-match promise and did not make wholesale changes but there were starts for teenager Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa, while Ekitike came off the bench in the second half after missing the last two games with injury.

Despite 57 places separating the two sides in the league pyramid, Barnsley flew out of the blocks and hit the bar through Davis Keillor-Dunn’s header in the opening minute.

Szoboszlai calmed the Anfield nerves with a great hit from outside the box that left Murphy Cooper with no chance in the Barnsley goal.

Frimpong doubled Liverpool’s lead in the 36th minute with a left-footed effort but just as the tie looked done and dusted, Szoboszlai delivered the moment that he will never want to watch again.

Thankfully for the Hungarian and Liverpool, it didn’t prove costly. Having lost to Barnsley on the two most recent occasions they visited Anfield in 1997 and 2008, this win extended Liverpool’s unbeaten run to 11 games.

The fact that Slot felt the need to throw on Ibrahima Konate, Wirtz and Ekitike on the hour mark summed up exactly how much Barnsley pushed Liverpool.

When Frimpong made it 2-0 in the first half Liverpool should have coasted to victory, but Szoboszlai’s error gave the Tykes a sniff and led to a nervous second half for the home fans.

The hosts were far from convincing and Anfield was on edge until Wirtz restored the two-goal advantage in the 84th minute.

In the end, the difference in class showed with the first three Liverpool goals coming from real moments of individual quality.

The link up between Wirtz and Ekitike after they came on was definitely encouraging to see for Slot and Liverpool supporters but this was a night where Hourihane’s side can take plenty of pride from their effort.

Until the 84th minute, this cup tie was well in the balance.