Liverpool overcome third-division Barnsley as Wirtz and Ekitike shine late on

Despite the gap in quality, Liverpool named a strong starting XI, with captain Virgil van Dijk joined by Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. They made an immediate impact, taking the lead inside the first 10 minutes as Szoboszlai fired a stunning 30-meter strike into the net.

Liverpool continued to dominate possession and doubled their advantage soon after. Jeremie Frimpong cut inside from the right and finished confidently with his left foot. Barnsley briefly gave themselves hope four minutes later when a mistake from Szoboszlai in the box allowed midfielder Adam Phillips to score a surprise goal.

After the break, Liverpool made several changes with Ibrahima Konaté, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké in. The substitutions paid off late on, in the 84th minute, Wirtz found the net after a clever lay-off from Ekitiké. Ten minutes later, the roles were reversed as Wirtz assisted Ekitiké, following a long pass from Szoboszlai, to complete the 4-1 win.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Szoboszlai said: “We wanted to show that we take the FA Cup seriously. I think we always do, but today we showed again that we need the whole squad. The new guys came in who maybe haven’t played as much as the others, and they also showed their quality. We need everyone.”

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot also praised his side in his post-match press conference. “A good win. Not just the performance, but the result,” he said. “We wanted to go into the next round, and that’s what we did. Four beautiful goals. It’s not always easy to unlock a low block, for any team in the world, and certainly not for us.

“You need different weapons: set-pieces, shots from outside the box, one-v-one situations. We saw all of that today. A great strike from distance, a one-v-one from Jeremie Frimpong, and then individual quality from Curtis, Hugo and Flo for the third goal. Some very good goals.”

This is Liverpool’s first of 2026 and extends their unbeaten run to 11 matches in all competitions, dating back to late November 2025. They recently drew 0-0 with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and remain fourth in the Premier League table with 35 points.

Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures include Burnley (17 January), Marseille in the Champions League (22 January), Bournemouth (25 January), and their final Swiss-stage match against Qarabag in the Champions League on 29 January.