Liverpool booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round on Monday night with a 4-1 victory over League One side Barnsley, though the scoreline flattered the hosts after a surprisingly competitive encounter at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s side took control early on with a stunning long-range strike from Dominik Szoboszlai and a well-taken goal from Jeremie Frimpong, who started at right-back in place of the injured Conor Bradley. However, the visitors refused to roll over, having already rattled the post inside the opening 30 seconds of the match.
Okay News reports that Barnsley were gifted a route back into the game thanks to a bizarre error from Szoboszlai. The Hungarian midfielder attempted an audacious back-heel flick inside his own penalty area which failed miserably, allowing former Liverpool academy graduate Adam Phillips to steal in and score. The goal sparked a tense period for the Premier League giants, with Barnsley seeing a massive penalty claim waved away by the referee after Szoboszlai appeared to challenge Reyes Cleary in the box—a decision that stood due to the absence of VAR in this round of the competition.
To ensure victory, Slot was forced to deploy significant firepower from the bench, introducing high-profile substitutes to quell the rebellion. The changes paid off in the final ten minutes as Florian Wirtz curled home a third goal before combining with Hugo Ekitike, who added a fourth to kill off the contest. Despite the win, Slot expressed frustration with the team’s complacency, criticizing the “bad moment” that allowed Barnsley to make the game tight for far longer than necessary.
The victory sets up a fourth-round tie against Brighton, adding to an increasingly congested fixture list for the Reds as they continue to compete on three fronts. While Barnsley manager Conor Hourihane was left ruing the penalty decision and describing the manner of Liverpool’s conceded goal as “disrespectful,” he praised his players for an outstanding effort that pushed one of Europe’s elite teams until the closing stages of the match.
