Sinclair and Wilson class hurts Chelsea
Goals in either half from Harry Wilson and Jerome Sinclair guided Liverpool U21s to a satisfying 2-0 victory over Chelsea on Monday evening.
The latter's acceleration and work-rate won a penalty that the former gleefully took command of, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to put Michael Beale's side in front.
Sinclair then added his own name to the scoresheet and provided a cushion with a superbly-taken conversion after the interval, his 22nd of the season, on an encouraging night for the youngsters.
There was an energetic start to proceedings and Chelsea should perhaps have taken an early lead when Isaiah Brown pounced on a bouncing ball inside the box only to awkwardly volley over.
That warning seemed to provoke the young Reds and notably Cameron Brannagan, who moved forward in scheming fashion and found Sergi Canos through a gap. But the Spaniard dragged his low shot wide to the left.
Sinclair's perseverance rendered that miss immaterial on eight minutes, though. The prolific forward sensed an opening as Fikayo Tomori struggled to deal with a knock over the top.
The Liverpool man seized upon it and made a scampering beeline for the area, where his opponent wrestled him to the ground. Penalty, said the referee, and up stepped Wilson to expertly clip a left-footer into the corner.
The confidence coursing through Beale's team was tangible; Alex O'Hanlon and Brannagan were efficient and productive on the ball, Canos a tricky threat, Sinclair a presence requiring constant attention.
And then there is Wilson, the Welsh winger with maturity beyond his years. But he would have appreciated greater composure upon collecting a long pass by Daniel Cleary, scuffing a hit off target instead.
As in the first half, Chelsea forward Brown found himself bearing down on goal in the fledgling exchanges of the second period, but having initially been beaten Cleary recovered to importantly block the strike.
History then repeated itself again. Sinclair's pressing and pace confounded Tomori, allowing Canos to release the No.9 to drive to the byline and, despite the narrowing angle, whip a high finish into the roof of the net for 2-0.
Blues substitute Tammy Abraham caught Joe Maguire off guard by ghosting into dangerous territory from the right hand side with a quarter of the contest remaining, but as the space to shoot disappeared he sent an effort wide.
Sinclair was primed to grab his second and Liverpool's third after being teed up by Wilson's creativity. Intelligent tracking back from Fankaty Dabo thwarted the forward at the key moment, however.
Dominic Solanke would have expected better when left with freedom to redirect a cross into the middle, yet his header was harmless - leaving the Reds to celebrate a creditable victory and clean sheet.
U21s team: Vigouroux, Randall, Maguire, Cleary, Jones, Stewart, Canos (Trickett-Smith), O'Hanlon (Lussey), Sinclair, Brannagan, Wilson (Smith). Unused substitutes: Fulton, Chirivella.