It was anything but a sweet Sunday afternoon for the Reds at Anfield, as Liverpool fought hard to knock down third-tier side Shrewsbury 3-1 in the FA Cup 3rd round tie.Without its African stars – Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah – who are already at the AFCON, Jurgen Klopp’s team came from behind to save its dignity and pride. Liverpool’s youngest ever starting XI of average age 22.5 found it challenging to surpass the minnows, whose most considerable success were two FA Cup quarter-finals back in the late ’70s and early ’80s. With 26 minutes on the clock, Shrewsbury striker Daniel Udoh stunned the home crowd and the Kop, in front which he netted. It was a simple, three-moves-long action that saw Ogbeta crossing it sharply from the left straight into the area, where the Nigerian striker – left unmarked behind Konate’s back – didn’t hesitate for a second but nailed it superbly to break the deadlock.Goal Daniel Udoh!!! #FACupLiverpool 0-1 Shrewsbury pic.twitter.com/KVgpsfmQMa— WFGOAL (@WFTV16) January 9, 2022 The Scousers, however, struck back soon. A promising winger Kaide Gordon made his Liverpool debut special by levelling the score seven minutes later. He received a ball in the centre of the area before fooling a couple of defenders and then placing it smoothly in the back of the net. #EmiratesFACup debut goal for Kaide Gordon 😁@LFC pull themselves level with @shrewsweb. pic.twitter.com/Zk7qLHKAxe— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 9, 2022 After such a terribly short lead, some other opponents would definitely fall into despair, but not Shrewsbury. They even managed to score the second almost instantly, although it was denied due to an uncertain offside moments before.Instead of going one up, the visitors were trailing by one after another suspicious referee’s decision – the Reds were given a penalty due to a handball, and Fabinho had no problem whatsoever to score from the spot for 2-1.Goal Fabinho!!! #LIVSHR #FACupLiverpool 2-1 Shrewsbury#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/4AnDoQiq9I— WFGOAL (@WFTV16) January 9, 2022 The second half lacked the tempo and much of a previous action, with Bobby Firminho finalising Liverpool’s quest for the 4th round with a beautiful backheel near the end.Firmino has scored 10 goals as a substitute for Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp, with only Divock Origi (11) netting more from the bench in this period pic.twitter.com/GOqHZWp0qM #LFC #CarabaoCup— supermane10 (@supermanelfc) January 9, 2022 FA CUP – Third RoundFridaySwindon Town – Manchester City 1-4 (0-2)/McKidrey 78 – Silva 14, Jesus 28, Gundogan 59, Palmer 82/SaturdayMansfield – Middlesbrough 2-3 (0-2)/Hawkins 67, Oates 85 – Ikpeazu 4, Munce 14, O’Toole 90+5 (og)/Burnley- Huddersfield 1-2 (1-0)/Rodriguez 28 – Koroma 74, Pearson 87/Hartlepool – Blackpool 2-1 (0-1)/Ferguson 48, Grey 61 – Anderson 8/Coventry – Derby 1-0 (1-0)/Hyam 42/Bristol City – Fulham 0-1 (0-0) aet/Wilson 105/Millwall – Crystal Palace 1-2 (1-0)/Afobe 17 – Olise 46, Mateta 58/Boreham Wood – Wimbledon 2-0 (1-0)/Marsh 10, Clifton 86/Kidderminster – Reading 2-1 (0-1)/Austin 66, Smith 82 – Puskas 45/Leicester – Watford 4-1 (2-1)/Telemans (p) 7, Maddison 25, Barnes 54, Albrighton 85 – Pedro 27/Newcastle – Cambridge 0-1 (0-0)/Ironside 56/WBA – Brighton 1-2 (0-0) aet/Robinson 48 – Moder 81, Maupay 98/Port Vale – Brentford 1-4 (0-1)/Harratt 70 – Forss 26, Mbeumo 66, 76, 87/QPR – Rotherham 1-1 (0-0)/Dykes 115 – Ihiekwe 98/Wigan – Blackburn 3-2 (0-0)/Power 61, Whatmough 75, Aasgaard 90+3 – Khadra 49, Ayala 89/Peterborough – Bristol Rovers 2-1 (1-1)/Szmodics 21, Mumba 63 – Coutts 30/Barnsley – Barrow 5-4 (2-0) aet/Andersen 23, William 42, Cole 83, Morris 88, 102 – Banks 61, Glennon 78, Jones 86, Kay 90/Hull – Everton 2-3 (1-2)/Smith 1, Longman 71 – Gray 21, Gomes 31, Towsend 99/Chelsea – Chesterfield 5-1 (4-0)/Werner 6, Hudson-Odoi 18, Lukaku 20, Christensen 39, Ziyech 55 (p) – Asante 80/Birmingham – Plymouth 0-1 (0-0) aet/Law 104/Swansea – Southampton 2-3 (0-1) aet/Piroe 77, Bednarek 94 (og) – Redmond 8, Elyounoussi 95, Long 102/Yeovil – Bournemouth 1-3 (0-2)/Quigley 48 – Marcondes 19,43, 70)SundayLuton – Harrogate Town 4-0 (1-0)/Adebayo 18, Jerome 50, Naismith 82, Berry 88/Cardiff – Preston 1-1 (1-0)/Davies 42 – Johnson 54 pen/Charlton – Norwich 0-1 (0-0)/Rashica 79/Stoke – Leyton 2-0 (1-0)/Ince 43, Campbell 89/Tottenham – Morecambe 3-1 (0-1)/Winks 74, Moura 85, Kane 88 – O’Connor 33/Liverpool – Shrewsbury 3-1 (2-1)/Gordon 34, Fabinho 44, Firminho 78 – Udoh 27/Wolverhampton – Sheffield Utd 3-0 (1-0)/Podence 14, 80, Semedo 72/West Ham – Leeds 1-0 (1-0)/Lanzini 34/20.10: (5.50) Nott.Forest (3.80) Arsenal (1.65)Monday22.55: (1.68) Man.Utd. (3.70) Aston Villa (5.30)***odds are subject to change
