Liverpool 4-0 Accrington (Jan 11, 2025) Game Analysis ESPN

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a stunning goal to help Liverpool beat League Two side Accrington Stanley 4-0 in the third round of the FA Cup at Anfield.

The England international -- who is out of contract at the end of the season and has been the subject of intense transfer interest from Real Madrid -- netted the second goal in a comfortable win for the Premier League leaders at the end of a week which has once again been dominated by speculation over his future. His strike came after Diogo Jota had opened the scoring on Merseyside, with academy graduate Jayden Danns and summer signing Federico Chiesa both coming off the bench to seal the victory in the second half.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot made eight changes to the side that was narrowly beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals on Wednesday night, handing a senior debut to Rio Ngumoha who, at 16 years and 135 days old, became the youngest player in the club's history to feature in the FA Cup.

Liverpool dominated the opening stages, with Darwin Núñez heading over the crossbar from a fine Harvey Elliott cross inside seven minutes. Alexander-Arnold, captaining the side in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, came close to breaking the deadlock minutes later when he forced a save from Everton loanee Billy Crellin, before Núñez blazed the rebound over the bar.

The Uruguay international did have a hand in Liverpool's opener, however, latching on to Alexander-Arnold's through ball and laying it off for Jota, who turned home from close range after 30 minutes. Elliot almost doubled the hosts' advantage after another slick Liverpool counter-attack, but the forward's effort was comfortably saved by Crellin, before Alexander-Arnold rifled home a superb effort from the edge of the penalty area on the stroke of half-time.

The 26-year-old capped off a first-half in which Liverpool had 84.6% of the possession, taking a singular touch before whipping the ball into the top corner. He was all smiles as he celebrated in front of the home support, just six days after he found himself the subject of intense scrutiny for his disappointing display in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United.

Italy international Federico Chiesa, making only his fifth appearance for the club since joining from Juventus in the summer, replaced Dominik Szoboszlai at the break and almost had an instant impact, seeing his strike deflected narrowly wide minutes after the restart.

Accrington did threaten to halve the deficit through boyhood Liverpool fan Josh Woods, who rattled the crossbar with a menacing strike from 20 yards just before the hour mark. Woods had gone viral in the weeks leading up to the game after a video of his ecstatic reaction to the third-round draw was posted online.

His near-miss appeared to breathe new life into the visitors, whose captain, Shaun Whalley, spurned a glorious opportunity to find the back of the net after a well-worked corner routine. Liverpool responded well, though, to the spell of Accrington pressure, with Chiesa forcing a decent save from Crellin at his near post.

The Accrington goalkeeper denied the Italian again in the 76th minute but this time Liverpool substitute Danns was there to sweep home the rebound, before Chiesa sealed the hosts' progression to the fourth round with a smart finish into the bottom corner in the final minute of normal time.