Liverpool 4 Accrington Stanley 0: Alexander-Arnold puts Man Utd nightmare behind him with rocket in simple FA Cup win
TRENT Alexander-Arnold milked Anfield’s applause after scoring the brilliant second goal that all but decided this tie.
Accrington Stanley showed exactly who they were for almost half an hour before Diogo Jota put Liverpool ahead from a lightning break.
But the League Two side paid the price for dropping their levels for a few minutes when Alexander-Arnold curled in a superb shot just before half time.
Only six days before, the England star had been the target of abuse from some home fans after a poor performance in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United followed more speculation about him moving to Real Madrid.
But TAA received a decent ovation as he left the pitch just before the hour.
What he saw from the bench was not very comfortable, as his side allowed Stanley back into the game.
Josh Burns hit the bar and defender Don Love missed a great chance to pull one back.
But Liverpool substitute Jayden Danns ended any debate with the third goal, then Federico Chiesa’s first strike for the club put the bookend on Accrington’s fairytale.
It was also an historic day for the Reds’ Rio Ngumoha, who became the youngest player ever to start a game for the club, at the age of 16 years and 135 days.
The left winger looked impressive from the start, but Accrington held their own for some time, although Liverpool should have taken the lead in the 12th minute.
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Dominik Szoboszlai dummied Kostas Tsimikas’ cross and Alexander-Arnold should probably have put his shot beyond the reach of Billy Crellin, the Accrington goalkeeper on loan from Everton.
But after Crellin kept it out with his right leg and the ball ricocheted to Nunez, the Uruguayan fired horribly over the crossbar.
The visitors were having some joy at the other end, too, with Josh Whalley in particular getting in down the left, but the final ball was lacking.
And it was from their own free kick that the League Two side conceded.
Ben Woods’ initial delivery was poor and when Szoboszlai controlled a lofted ball to no-one by Nelson Khumbeni, trouble soon followed.
The Hungarian found Alexander-Arnold released Nunez with a cute pass and the Liverpool No 9 crossed perfectly to where Jota was ready with a routine finish.
More good work from the Portugal forward led to a half-chance for Harvey Elliott.
Crellin saved easily and then watched a Tyler Morton shot comfortably clear his goal.
But there was nothing Crellin could do when Alexander-Arnold found space just outside the box and whipped a wonderful finish across and into the net off the post.
Stanley made a double change at half time, with former Liverpool trainee Liam Coyle coming on to try to restore some life to his team’s hopes.
Inside a minute of the restart, Nunez saw a shot stopped by Crellin and then teed up Chiesa, on for Szoboszlai, for an effort that was deflected wide.
Liverpool lost a bit of momentum and were grateful to see Ben Woods’ low shot blocked by his own player.
The Reds were certainly not out of the Woods yet.
Accrington’s Josh met a corner at the back post only for Jota to get in the way of the header.
But no-one got near his shot moments later when he cut inside and smashed an effort off the crossbar.
Slot made more changes just before the hour and Alexander-Arnold returned the crowd’s applause as he was replaced by Conor Bradley.
He will have been less happy with what happened next as his side lost balance and control.
Stanley, who are 19th in League Two, should have made things interesting with 25 minutes to go.
A well-worked move saw Whalley cross into the six-yard box and centre back Don Love had timed his run perfectly.
But he could only send his free header off target with the whole of Caoimhin Kelleher’s goal gaping.
At the other end, Crellin kept out another Chiesa shot from a narrow angle.
But soon it was game over.
Jayden Danns won the ball in his own half and kept running after playing in Chiesa.
The Italian’s shot was saved well by Crellin but Danns was there to smash the ball in and end any debate.
There was still time for Chiesa to hit one post and then, not long afterwards, to break his Liverpool duck with a shot that went in off the other.
It was a pleasing way to end the afternoon for Alexander-Arnold and his club after a tough week.