FA Cup: Reds held as City, Man U win

London, January 27

Liverpool let a 2-0 lead slip as League One Shrewsbury earned a FA Cup fourth round replay at Anfield thanks to a 2-2 draw, whilst Manchester United and Manchester City cruised into the fifth round.

Jurgen Klopp showed his focus is very much on a first Premier League title for 30 years as he made 11 changes to the side that won at Wolves on Thursday. And Klopp confirmed he will name an even younger side for the replay as it falls days into Liverpool’s 2-week winter break from Premier League action.

Some respite for Solskjaer

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was badly in need of a convincing performance after 2-0 defeats to Liverpool and Burnley over the past seven days and got a response with a 6-0 thrashing of third-tier Tranmere Rovers. Captain Harry Maguire led by example by striding forward to smash home his first goal for the club before Diogo Dalot also grabbed his first United goal and Jesse Lingard curled home to make it three goals in a six-minute spell. Phil Jones then nodded home and Anthony Martial’s deflected strike made it five before the break.

Empty stands annoy Pep

City manager Pep Guardiola hopes more fans show up at the Etihad Stadium for the midweek derby after questioning why there were 15,000 empty seats for his side’s 4-0 stroll past Fulham. — AFP