Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had to rely on his youngsters to keep their FA Cup hopes alive after a 2-2 draw with Exeter at St James Park in the third round on Friday.
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Exeter looked on their way to a big upset when Tom Nichols fired them into a ninth-minute lead.
Exeter were to take the lead again in this topsy turvy game, with Lee Holmes scoring directly from a corner, only for Brad Smith to ensure that the hosts didn’t win with a late goal.
The replay at Anfield means Exeter could earn about £700,000 from the match, according to Sporting Intelligence.
Ultimately, their exertions took their toll as Smith took advantage of tiring legs, but a replay at Anfield is the least they deserved for a determined display. When you’re 2-1 up and defending a lead with 10 minutes to go then you’re disappointed.
Klopp was without 13 players – seven of them with hamstring problems – and in the event he changed the entire team with Tiago Ilori, Kevin Stewart and Ryan Kent making senior debuts for a side which only had 34 Liverpool appearances between them in total this season.
“It’s obvious what we have to learn in the future”, said Klopp following the final whistle.
Ribeiro remained a threat down the right for Exeter and came close with another header just before the hour, but his attempt dropped wide of the post, before scorer of the game’s first goal, Nichols, curled one over the crossbar from outside the box.
“I think the Exeter players were more robust than us and we have to work on that”.
“It’s obviously not normally this full but the fans have been different class for the last four or five games, all credit must go to them, the atmosphere was unbelievable”. “In one-on-one situations they were more robust than our guys”.
The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti in the summer to replace Pep Guardiola as manager could offer Gotze a second chance at Bayern, but the World Cup victor has said he wants regular football.
“It was really hard on the pitch but Exeter did really well”, he added.
Oh, yeah, and that bog they call a football pitch.
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Gotze is stepping up his rehabilitation from a groin injury that has sidelined him since October and, despite Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer this week dismissing any potential move to the Premier League club as “nonsense”, the player himself told Sport Bild that “everything is open”.
