Before Liverpool's League Cup match against Leeds United last Tuesday, Michael Owen had the record for the youngest goal scorer in the club's history, kid striker Ben Woodburn changed that after getting a goal against Leeds. But manager Jurgen Klopp is an expert at taking these kinds of situations with ease, he wisely decided to not make a big deal out if this and send the player a clear message: he must stay focused on his career.
Klopp told the press that: "We know what Ben is capable of and what he is already able to do. My first job is to help these boys so that they can be the best - in this case, Ben Woodburn. There's a lot of things to do, especially to keep the public away as long as possible. That's quite a difficult thing to do. But on the other hand, we only bring him in because we want to use him. So that means when he's on the pitch he's absolutely allowed to score goals, to prepare situations, to make crosses – how Trent did, for example.
"So, all good. I'm really happy for him. The only problem is I'm a little bit afraid about you [the media]. That's why I'm so quiet on this. Think and do what you want, but don't write anything – only 'Goalscorer, Ben Woodburn.' Done. Quite a challenge! The only thing lacking was us taking one of quite a few opportunities, I think we had the best chances in the game. All it needed was a little bit more composure – that's the only negative in the performance. Also a little bit of unluckiness as well, as Kemar's shot deserved a goal.
"Overall I told the players I was gutted for them. As a performance for a team that's very young and very inexperienced, these kinds of nights can set a marker for yourself. That's the spirit and the quality that you have to have if you want to be successful. We're disappointed at this moment in time but I'm sure they will look back in the next day or so and realize they put on a very good performance."
Photo credit: Liverpool FC