Philippe Coutinho was again the savour of Liverpool’s FA Cup hopes as the Brazilian’s fine strike sealed a narrow victory over a spirited Blackburn Rovers in their sixth round replay at Ewood Park.
The Reds’ number ten was the standout star in what was a laboured performance from the Premier League side, but his moment of magic proved enough to set up a Wembley Stadium clash with Aston Villa.
Brendan Rodgers’ men struggled to break down the stubborn Rovers, who set up with two banks of four players to limit their top flight opponents’ attacking threat.
A buzzing capacity crowd witnesses a cagey first half and Gary Gowyer’s charges twice went close to taking the lead in a rapid start to the second, with Simon Mignolet doing well to first palm away Tom Cairney’s stinging long range effort before turning Ben Marshall’s stopping header onto the post.
Blackburn’s attacking options were limited with Jordan Rhodes on his own up front, but they enjoyed some added impetus when Rudy Gestede, who wasn’t deemed fit enough to start, came off the bench.
However, it seemed only a matter of time until Liverpool, who piled on the pressure in the closing stages, broke through.
And, with 20 minutes remaining, Coutinho found an inch of space in the box and made the most of it, smashing a low shot into the bottom corner of the net.
There was last minute drama when a late long throw-in saw Rovers goalkeeper Eastwood, who had joined his team-mates in the box, send a thumping shot towards goal, but Mignolet denied his counterpart with a strong one-handed save to secure Liverpool's place at Wembley.
More to follow...
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