Liverpool’s youngsters have enjoyed a great season under Jurgen Klopp
Teenagers Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas scored against Southampton
Will adrenaline help Liverpool overcome the quadruple pressure or will they fall off a cliff? everything is beginning podcast
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Virgil Van Dijk urged his young Liverpool team-mates to “stay united” and “be brave” ahead of their FA Cup clash against Southampton on Wednesday.
Bobby Clark and James McConnell, both 19, started the 3-0 win at Anfield that earned the Reds a quarter-final draw against Manchester United along with Jarell Quansah, 21, and Lewis Koumas , 18. who scored in his professional debut.
The quartet was joined in the starting XI by 20-year-old Conor Bradley, while 18-year-old Jayden Danns came off the bench to score twice.
And footage emerging on social media shows Van Dijk telling his younger teammates to take the opportunity to impress by expressing themselves.
‘Help each other, push each other. Whatever happens, guys, let’s stick together,” the Liverpool captain can be heard saying in the tunnel before kick-off.
Virgil Van Dijk gave an emotional speech to Liverpool’s youngsters ahead of the game against Southampton on Wednesday night.
The Reds captain urged his younger teammates to “enjoy” the occasion and “be brave”
Van Djik delivered the message in the tunnel before the start of the match at Anfield
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‘Go ahead, enjoy it, be brave, full of confidence, whatever we do.’
It has been a magnificent season for Liverpool’s youngsters, with several leaving their mark on Jurgen Klopp’s team.
The Reds had eight homegrown players in the squad for their 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
Bradley started at Wembley, while Danns, Quansah, Clark and McConnell came off the bench.
Van Djik’s words on Wednesday echoed the message Klopp delivered in his pre-match press conference against Southampton, in which he took pressure off his younger stars by urging them to enjoy playing football.
‘First of all, they don’t have to show anything. I know what you want to say. It’s easy to misunderstand,’ she stated.
‘Sunday’s story was one of the best football stories I have ever heard. It’s 100 percent correct.
‘Chelsea were younger than us, things like that. That’s a different project (but) it’s not about that (and) we don’t compare it.
Lewis Koumas scored the first goal on his professional debut and the Reds won 3-0.
His teammate Jayden Danns, 18, came off the bench to score twice as Liverpool reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where they will face Manchester United.
The public could do that, we don’t do that. But our guys played in youth (and) under-21 teams, things like that, and they just arrived and didn’t train with us for a long time.
“That’s absolutely zero experience, but there’s a lot of talent and they just showed it.” That is the situation we have to create for the kids.
“If we played more of them tomorrow from the beginning or whatever and we took a look (and said), ‘Well, you’re not as good as I thought after Sunday,’ that would be horrendous.”
‘There is absolutely no pressure. All these guys have to do is really enjoy what they’re doing.’