Shrewsbury Town vs Liverpool. The FA Cup Fourth Round.
The Croud MeadowAttendance9,510.
League One side Shrewsbury came from two down to earn a replay against Premier League leaders Liverpool
Monday 27 January 2020 06:27, UK
Substitute Jason Cummings was the two-goal hero as Shrewsbury produced a stunning comeback to draw 2-2 with Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round.
Curtis Jones' early finish followed by Donald Love's own goal in the opening seconds of the second half had look to seal it for the Premier League leaders before the drama unfolded.
Josh Laurent won a penalty midway through the second half that Cummings converted and the forward then raced through to earn a replay for the League One side.
Jurgen Klopp turned to Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino in search of a winner but Shrewsbury were good value and pushed hard for a third of their own in a thrilling cup tie.
It was a much changed team from Klopp, as expected, but there was no shortage of quality with Joel Matip and Fabinho returning to the starting line-up after injury.
Fabinho looked shaky in the opening 45 minutes but there was plenty of class on show elsewhere - as was obvious in the build-up to the opening goal.
January signing Takumi Minamino held the ball up well before feeding the impressive playmaker Pedro Chirivella and his fine pass put Jones away to score.
This was the second consecutive appearance that Jones has scored in after his wonder strike against Everton in the third round and he looked bright once again.
But just when it seemed that Liverpool might run away with it, Sam Ricketts' Shrewsbury side showed they were a threat on the counter-attack through Sean Whalley and Callum Lang.
It was Whalley who had the best chance after Fabinho was dispossessed but when one-on-one with Adrian it was the goalkeeper who out-thought him with a fine block.
Soon after, Whalley was away again down the left channel but this time he could only scuff his left-footed shot wide of Adrian's far post and the opportunity was lost.
Shrewsbury must have felt like their chance had gone when Love inexplicably stroked the ball beyond his own goalkeeper within seconds of the restart.
But that proved the catalyst for a renewed push from the home side and though Lang saw a shot well saved by Adrian, the goal came midway through the second half.
The superb Laurent raced through and was taken down by Yasser Larouci just outside the box only to see the referee point to the spot.
Cummings slotted that past Adrian with ease and the Montgomery Waters Meadow went wild soon after when the unlikely equaliser arrived.
Max O'Leary saved well from Divock Origi before launching a long ball upfield that saw Cummings get the better of Lovren before finishing expertly.
Salah did come close to heading in the winner but the goal would not come for Klopp's side and Liverpool now face a replay that will eat into their winter break.
For Shrewsbury, the game at Anfield will be rather more welcome.
Sam Ricketts: "This is what football is all about, especially for us. The league is our bread and butter but this is what makes it for the supporters and everything around it. It's fantastic. It's what it does for us long-term wise in terms of revenue too."
Jurgen Klopp: "We sent so many invitations to the opponent today that it's difficult to win the game. We don't have enough time to say what wasn't right today. We gave them so many chances and Adrian was given too much to do. They slowed the game down and at 2-0 up it looked like we were 2-1 down. It's difficult to explain but it's the minimum that they deserved from the game today."
Shrewsbury are back in League One action against Gillingham on Wednesday and there's no rest for the Premier League leaders either.
Klopp's side travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham in a game that was rearranged because of Liverpool's commitments in the Club World Cup late last year.
