Jurgen Klopp’s kids did him proud again as Lewis Koumas scored on debut and fellow 18-year-old Jayden Danns registered his first two goals as a depleted Liverpool side beat Southampton 3-0 at Anfield.
Victory, just three days after an exhausting 120-minute Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea, set up an FA Cup quarter-final at arch rivals Manchester United.
Whether the academy players will be required for that will depend on how fast the club can rehabilitate the 13 players currently injured in the next fortnight but regardless they have done their job.
Koumas, son of former Tranmere and West Brom midfielder Jason, was one of six players 21 or under in the team.
And it was one of his fellow academy colleagues Bobby Clark, one year his senior and making his 10th appearance, who supplied the assist just before half-time.
Danns, the son of former Crystal Palace midfielder Neil and who only made his debut at Wembley, came off the bench to score the second in the 73rd minute which allowed Anfield to breathe a sigh of relief.
That allowed Klopp the luxury of sending on Trey Nyoni, who at 16 years and 243 days became the club’s youngest player in the competition and third youngest in the club’s history.
That was the signal for the party atmosphere to kick in with the Kop singing “we haven’t won a trophy – since Sunday afternoon” – just before Danns fired home his second in the 88th minute after goalkeeper Joe Lumley parried Conor Bradley’s drive.
Southampton, however, were left ruing a missed opportunity against under-strength opponents having created enough chances in the opening half-hour to have made life difficult for their hosts.
Five of Liverpool’s Sunday starting XI – Caoimhin Kelleher, Virgil van Dijk, Harvey Elliott, Cody Gakpo and Bradley – were retained with three others – Ibrahim Konate, Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz – dropped to the bench.
However, it was not all routine with defender Joe Gomez, who has been deployed all across the back four this season, asked to play the holding role in midfield alongside youngsters James McConnell and Clark.
But being asked to play a late cameo in a cup final and delivering from the off in a somewhat experimental team are two different things and the disjointed nature of the first 40 minutes were understandable.
Southampton, fourth in the Championship and with eyes on a bigger prize than cup success to the extent they made eight changes from Saturday’s defeat to Millwall, took advantage but not enough to open the scoring, which was largely due to their decision-making in the final third.
Sekou Mara had the ball in the net after just 38 seconds but had gone too early and was flagged offside.
Kamaldeen Sulemana hit a post and Mara forced Kelleher into two saves, with Sulemana then opting to shoot at the goalkeeper with Mara and Samuel Edozie waiting for a pass.
There was a point late in the half when Kostas Tsimikas was shouting instructions to Gakpo only for Klopp to tell the left-back to do something different when he had the ball.
It summed up the confusion and lack of cohesion – until a moment of clarity fashioned on the training fields of Kirkby broke the deadlock.
Lumley had waited 40 minutes to make a save, from Elliott’s 25-yarder, but he was undone by the quick feet of Koumas and a deflection off Jack Stephens.
Koumas started the move out on the left wing and when Clark picked out the winger’s run he cut onto his right foot and hit a shot which flicked off Stephens on its way past Lumley.
In a pre-planned move, Konate replaced Van Dijk for the second half to present Liverpool with a different challenge without the leadership of their inspirational captain.
The substitute assumed the mantle immediately, doing just enough to put off Mara as he tried to reach Sulemana’s cross, while at that same far post the unmarked Shea Charles fired into the side-netting with only Kelleher to beat after a corner dropped to him.
Danns showed a composure belying his age by clipping a shot over Lumley after Will Smallbone’s errant pass went straight to Elliott, before adding a late second.
Tuchel and Bayern fume at 'absolute disaster' after contentious offside call
Thomas Tuchel and Bayern Munich were left fuming after Matthijs de Ligt's contentious late strike was disallowed in their semi-final defeat to Real Madrid.
Bayern crashed out 4-3 on aggregate at Santiago Bernabeu after a dramatic double from substitute Joselu saw the hosts snatch victory to advance to the final on June 1.
Tuchel's side thought they had forced extra-time when De Ligt had the ball in the net, but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag, so VAR could not intervene.
The replays showed that the original decision was closer than first thought, and the head coach bemoaned the lack of consistency after Madrid's second goal was awarded following a VAR review.
"I think it's pretty clear and there is no doubt that is against the rules of modern football," he said. "A disaster. An absolute disaster.
"With Real's second goal, they let the play continue. The clear rule is that the scene must continue. The first mistake was made by the linesman, the second by the referee."
Bayern had taken the lead through Alphonso Davies at the midway point in the second half, before Joselu's late intervention denied them a crack at a seventh title against compatriots Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
De Ligt said the linesman had apologised to him after the game.
"[It is] very difficult. Of course, as sportspeople, we accept it," Tuchel said. "But it is a semi-final, it's not for two such mistakes.
"Everyone has to be at their limit. The referees have to be there as well. That is what we expect, so the apology does not really help."
Super sub Joselu 'the perfect reflection of Madrid', hails Ancelotti after Bayern brace
Carlo Ancelotti saluted Joselu after the striker climbed off the bench and scored twice against Bayern Munich to send Real Madrid through to their 18th Champions League final.
Following Alphonso Davies' earlier strike at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid trailed Bayern 1-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate when Joselu replaced Federico Valverde with nine minutes of their pulsating semi-final tie remaining.
The 33-year-old, who is on loan from second-tier Espanyol, turned the tie on its head with two dramatic late goals.
First, he pounced on a rare mistake by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer to stab in an 88th-minute equaliser, before volleying home Antonio Rudiger's cross in the first minute of stoppage time.
This was Joselu's eighth substitute appearance in this season's Champions League and Ancelotti praised the professionalism of his striker, who has now netted 17 times across all competitions, despite spending much of the campaign on the bench.
"He's a player who's contributed a lot this season, even if he hasn't played many minutes," the Italian said.
"But he's the perfect reflection of what this squad is: players who contribute a lot without losing confidence [if they're not playing] and the idea that they can offer the team something."
Ancelotti, whose side will play Borussia Dortmund in his sixth Champions League final as a manager on June 1, also hailed the character demonstrated by his players during another "magical" Madrid performance.
"It's happened so many times now, it's something inexplicable," he added. "It's happened again [thanks to] fans that push [us], a fantastic atmosphere and players who never stop believing that they can do it. It's something magical, there's no explanation for it."
Journeyman Joselu takes long, winding road to Champions League final
Real Madrid striker Joselu was in dreamland after he came on in the dying moments of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and turned the game on its head with two goals to snatch a stunning victory.
Joselu, whose journeyman career has included spells at clubs such as Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hannover 96, Stoke City and Newcastle United, only touched the ball a few times in their 2-1 second-leg win, but it was a night he is likely to remember for a long time.
He pounced on a rare mistake by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, stabbing the ball into the net to equalise for Madrid in the 88th minute, and just under three minutes later, he volleyed them into the lead from a cross by Antonio Rudiger.
"I don't know anything about being a hero, but I'm very happy... You can imagine," he said. "It was incredible, something spectacular. This team never gives up, it's in its blood to fight to the end and that's what we've done.
"You always dream of this kind of performance, but not even my most beautiful dreams are as big as what happened today."
On loan from second-division side Espanyol, Joselu's journey to becoming the semi-final hero has been long and winding in a career involving a dozen clubs across Europe.
He began his career at Celta Vigo before being bought in 2009 by Madrid, where he excelled in their B team but rarely made it to the first team.
He was sold to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in 2012 and then loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt before joining Hannover 96 in 2014.
In 2015, he moved to Premier League side Stoke City, playing 27 times and scoring four goals, before spending two seasons at Newcastle United. He returned to Spain with Alaves, where he scored 36 times in three seasons.
He signed as a free agent with Espanyol in the summer of 2022, and a year later was loaned to Madrid and has scored nine goals in 32 appearances this season in LaLiga.
Joselu, born in Stuttgart, Germany, made his debut for Spain aged 33, coming off the bench against Norway to score twice in two minutes in March 2023.
"I don’t think Joselu will be sleeping much tonight, he’ll be useless in training tomorrow!" team-mate Jude Bellingham said. "He deserves it all, he’s been an amazing member of the squad all season, and it’s his night."
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