Nacho and Coady sink West Brom
Nacho and Conor Coady fired Liverpool U21s to a comfortable 2-0 victory over West Brom at the Academy on Sunday.
Well-worked goals in the second half handed Alex Inglethorpe's side the deserved victory, with the inspired Spanish pairing of Suso and Nacho proving crucial in dominating proceedings.
Full-back Jon Flanagan made a solid comeback from a knee injury, playing just over an hour in his first appearance since January.
The Reds wasted little time in their search for an opener as they hit two attempts inside the first six minutes.
Krisztian Adorjan was thwarted by the rainy conditions as he slipped when attempting a shot from Nacho's cross, before Suso looked to utilise the wet ground to his advantage.
The young Spaniard skipped inside from the right flank before powering a 25-yard drive that rapidly skimmed along the drenched surface, forcing goalkeeper Shane Lewis into a diving save.
After an encouraging start from the home side, the Baggies fashioned a glorious chance against the run of play on 10 minutes.
Joel Ambalu raced in behind the Reds' rearguard to meet Allan Scott's through ball but the striker hesitated, allowing Craig Roddan to recover and make a well-timed sliding tackle to clear the danger.
The Reds maintained their high tempo and created three chances in as many minutes shortly before the half-hour mark.
Nacho drilled an inviting pass across the face of goal that was just beyond the outstretched boot of Adam Morgan, before the former fired a goal-bound effort soon after.
The Spaniard calmly shuffled across the edge of the area under pressure before curling a low shot that Lewis tipped around the near post.
The final of the trio of chances produced the most unfortunate miss. The energetic Joao Carlos Teixeira surged into the opposition's box before slamming a shot that was too powerful for Lewis to control, forcing him to parry the ball out into the path of the well-positioned Morgan.
The forward was unlucky not to add to his tally of 13 for the season as he failed to make contact with the ball that fizzed underneath his right foot.
After continuing to nullify any threat that the visitors posed, the Reds were gifted one more opportunity to take a deserved lead into the break on the stroke of half-time when they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area.
The influential Suso willingly accepted set-piece duties and was unlucky as he whipped his curling effort inches wide, ensuring the Baggies fortuitously ended the first half on terms with Liverpool.
Suso's eagerness was evident when he looked to break the deadlock immediately after the restart.
The youngster burst in from the inside to create a chance reminiscent of his first half attempt, before he rifled a dipping effort from 30 yards that flew narrowly over the crossbar.
In the 53rd minute, Suso's constant pressing paid dividends when he set up his compatriot Nacho for his first goal of the season.
The No.7 curled an accurate cross towards the far post that the midfielder met with a fine header across Lewis and into the far corner.
Pleasing teamwork resulted in Liverpool extending their lead through Coady 10 minutes later.
Intricate passing through the midfield allowed Nacho to be the provider on this occasion, teeing up the skipper for a 30-yard curler that flew beyond the arm of the diving Lewis and into the back of the net.
A two-goal cushion did not halt Liverpool's desire for more goals as Coady rattled the woodwork from similar range to his goal.
Teixeira laid the ball into the captain's path for a side-footed effort that took a wicked deflection, sending the ball looping over Lewis and crashing off the post.
That would not be the only time where the Reds had the goal frame shaking as Adorjan came painfully close to scoring a third in extravagant circumstances.
The Hungarian cleverly turned away from a challenge in the box before sweeping the ball over the helpless Lewis and onto the crossbar with the outside of his foot.
Late pressure from the visitors failed to trouble the ruthless Reds backline as Alex Inglethorpe's charges held on for the remainder of the affair to seal all three points.
LFC: Gulacsi, Flanagan (Baio 61), Roddan, Sama, Wisdom, Coady (c), Suso, Adorjan (Mukendi 90), Morgan, Nacho, Teixeira.