Plymouth Argyle vs Liverpool. The FA Cup Third Round.
Home Park.
Thursday 19 January 2017 06:37, UK
Lucas Leiva's first-half header was enough for Liverpool to beat Plymouth 1-0 in their FA Cup third-round replay at Home Park.
Plymouth had battled well for a goalless draw in the original tie at Anfield, and mostly managed to keep their Premier League opponents at bay on Wednesday night.
But despite Divock Origi seeing a penalty saved late on, Liverpool eventually got through the tie and into the next round, where they will face Wolves at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp made nine changes from the side that drew with Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, with Philippe Coutinho returning to the starting line-up for the first time since recovering from his injury.
And it was the little Brazilian who set up the opener, putting the corner in for compatriot Lucas to crash home a header in the 18th minute - his first goal in more than six years.
Plymouth weren't too disheartened, however, and immediately took the game to their Premier League opponents.
Their best chance to level in the first half came after 33 minute as Oscar Threlkeld burst down the right before attempting to pick out Arnold Garita in the middle. And it so nearly reached the striker, who would have had a simple finish, but Trent Alexander-Arnold managed to scramble back and nick it off his toe, with his touch just rolling wide of the post.
Plymouth came out brightly at the start of the second half, but took until the 75th minute to create a real chance for themselves. A long ball forward found Jake Jervis in the box via the head of Sonny Bradley, but his acrobatic effort clipped the outside of the post before going just wide.
Liverpool then had the chance to kill the game in the 89th minute as Yann Songo'o gave away a penalty with a needless foul on Alberto Moreno, but Divock Origi's effort was poor and Plymouth goalkeeper Luke McCormick guessed right to keep it out.
But there just wasn't enough time for Plymouth to carve themselves out another chance, and Liverpool held on to win their first game of 2017.
