English FA Cup: Liverpool, Chelsea advance to quater finals
Jurgen Klopp praised “top-class” Takumi Minamino as his two goals ensured Liverpool followed up their Carabao Cup triumph by beating Norwich to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The Reds beat Chelsea on penalties in a gruelling and thrilling Wembley encounter on Sunday and showed their strength in depth by winning this fifth-round tie at Anfield after making 10 changes.
Minamino was an unused substitute at Wembley but grasped his chance of a return to the starting line-up with two first-half goals against the Canaries.
The Japan international opened the scoring when he was teed up by Divock Origi to drive in from close range, adding a second just before half-time when he was left unmarked at a corner to hit a great strike into the roof of the net.
Minamino had scored four goals in five EFL Cup games for Liverpool this season but was left out of the starting XI for the final.
Takumi Minamino has scored nine goals this season with seven of those coming in cup competitions
It was not a straightforward win for Liverpool as Norwich showed fight late on, giving their impressive away following hope when Lukas Rupp found himself in space to thump a fierce shot beyond Alisson.
The Liverpool goalkeeper then pushed over a powerful Jonathan Rowe strike as Norwich pressed but the hosts held on to secure their passage into the last eight.
Klopp’s side have now beaten Norwich four times this season – home and away in the Premier League and in the EFL Cup third round, along with Wednesday’s win.
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It is also the first time in the Reds’ history that they have beaten the same team four times in a single campaign.
Elsewhere, Chelsea survived a scare against Championship side Luton Town in a tie overshadowed by owner Roman Abramovich’s decision to sell the Stamford Bridge club.
Abramovich made the announcement an hour before kick-off after growing speculation he would put Chelsea up for sale following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea’s players were unaware of the developments before Abramovich made them public in his statement, and Reece Burke made their night more uncomfortable when he put the Hatters in front with a header following a corner after only two minutes.
Luton lost goalkeeper Jed Steer to an ankle injury after only 14 minutes, and Chelsea were level before his replacement Harry Isted had been on the field that long – with Saul Niguez steering home a cool finish.
Harry Cornick raced clear to restore Luton’s lead before half-time but Chelsea turned up the pressure after the break to prevail despite an unconvincing performance.
Timo Werner finished coolly after collecting Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s long pass in the 68th minute, then crossed for Romelu Lukaku to slide in and put Chelsea ahead for the first time 10 minutes later.
