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Liverpool Academy director Alex Inglethorpe has saluted the “bravery” of Jurgen Klopp after the manager handed full debuts to three of the clubs graduates.

Connor Randall, Cameron Brannagan and Joao Carlos Teixeira all impressed in Wednesday’s Capital One Cup victory over Bournemouth at Anfield.

Inglethorpe was proud of the way the trio performed and believes they all have what it takes to flourish at Melwood.

“It was a brilliant night for everybody involved at the Academy,” he said.

“I thought it was a very brave decision by our manager Jurgen Klopp, who showed great faith in the boys, and it was fantastic to see them play their part in helping secure the win.

“I spoke with Connor after the game and he was so proud. In the first half he was up against a talented player in Marc Pugh, who made life very difficult for him, but one of his qualities is he will never give up, he won’t quit.

“I thought in the second half he not only defended really well but got forward to good effect too. He also had some good moments in their penalty area with some great runs and he can be very pleased with his efforts.

“Cameron is the captain of the under-21s and he is one of the most low maintenance players I can remember working with.

“He doesn’t get flustered and he is getting more aggressive and stronger with every month that passes and he looked the part on Wednesday night. He had a very assured game in midfield and didn’t look out of place at all.”

Inglethorpe was also delighted for Teixeira, who has battled back to fitness after suffering a broken ankle while on loan at Brighton last season.

“Joao is a little bit different to Cameron and Connor because he came to Liverpool from Sporting Lisbon at an early age, and he last played for the first team in a senior game when he made his debut against Fulham two seasons ago,” he told Liverpoolfc.com.

Teixeira has wonderful imagination

“It was brilliant to see him play a big part in the winning goal. You expect the unexpected with Joao. One minute you think he might have taken the ball just too wide and the next thing he will produce a moment of cheekiness like he did with the flick for the goal.

“He is a talented boy with wonderful imagination and every performance I see from him he is getting more mature.

"He was unlucky not to score again with the effort into the side netting and then the great free-kick which brought about a really good save. That shows you the personality he has in stepping forward and taking the responsibility.

“Joao had a great time in the Championship with Brighton last season and then he suffered a really bad injury. He deserves a lot of credit for the way he bounced back. He worked so hard during the summer, and that was his reward on Wednesday night. He has a lot of self belief and he looked comfortable out there.

“The great thing with this trio is they won’t get carried away with themselves, which is the most important thing.

“Complacency can be a bit of a disease and I’ve no doubt that all three of the lads are aware they still have a lot of learning to do and there’s a lot of hard work ahead of them, but it’s a nice recognition of what they have done up to now.”