Liverpool continues to live a dream season. The Champions League title at the end of last campaign launched the best moment of the club in a long period, which was crowned with a new trophy in the recent Club World Cup and rising to its highest expression in the Premier League, where Jürgen Klopp's team is an undisputed leader 22 points ahead of Manchester City and heading for their first title since 1990. But on Tuesday night they had to face the 'replay' of the round of 32 of the FA Cup, and they did it with a team full of 'children' who gave them another valuable win.

19y 102d - With an average age of 19 years and 102 days, Liverpool have tonight named their youngest ever starting XI in all competitions for the second time this season, surpassing their lineup for the League Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa in December (19y 182d). Break. pic.twitter.com/iUM7BjIyvx — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 4, 2020

Deserved rest

The draw (2-2) in their visit to Shrewsbury Town of League One (Third category) forced the 'reds' to look for the qualification to the last 16 in Anfield in the middle of the winter break in the Premier League. A 'break' from which Klopp did not deprive his main squad. No player of the first team nor the German coach was present in a game in which the 'kids' of Melwood took the post and went through with a win by the minimum difference (1-0).

Neil Critchley (coach of the U23 team) led the Premier League leader by lining up an starting XI whose average age was 19 years and 102 days, the youngest in the 127-year history of the 'red' club beating the team that with 19 years and 182 days face Aston Villa in the quarterfinals of the League Cup in December. There, they lost (5-0) in Birmingham without their stars or Klopp, since the first team had to play the semi-finals of the Club World Cup in Qatar the next day against Rayados de Monterrey. A true incongruity of modern football that ended with Liverpool eliminated from the Carabao Cup.

5 - Five of the six youngest starting XIs in Liverpool's club history have been named since Jürgen Klopp took charge in October 2015 - Shrewsbury tonight, Aston Villa in December 2019, Plymouth in January 2017 (twice) and Exeter in January 2016. Prospects. #LIVSHR pic.twitter.com/I0w4dKNUhS — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 4, 2020

Anfield's fort is still intact

But that wasn’t important for Klopp, and against Shrewsbury, the 'Pool' repeated the plan, this time with a positive result. The Spanish Chirivella was the most 'veteran' of the lineup with 22 years and Curtis Jones the youngest captain (19 years and five days) in the history of the club. The young lads suffered during a good part of the match, and they even saw themselves below in the scoreboard when Whalley made the 0-1, but the action was canceled by the VAR for offside. It did count, on the opposite end, Williams's own goal, in an action that would end up defining the game. The Melwood factory solved the situation and at the same time preserved the fort of Anfield intact.

There have been 40 matches at home between all tournaments without a defeat for the 'reds'. Chelsea and the Bridge await them in the round of 16 of the FA Cup. Klopp will again mix his young promises with the big stars. A formula that at least in this competition has worked. For the youngest of the club, it was an epic night: The Kop, in a stadium dressed in gala with more than 50 thousand spectators, bid farewell to their players with euphoria and they responded with a lap of honor. Liverpool and its 'kids' move on and are excited to repeat the deed in the near future.