Wolves thump Liverpool in FA Cup

WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP):

Liverpool were beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 in the third round of the FA Cup with a 30-metre strike by Ruben Neves sealing the win yesterday.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp left star forwards Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino on the bench until the 70th minute, and they failed to have an impact after coming on.

Wolves went in front through Raul Jimenez in the 38th minute after James Milner lost possession in central midfield, but Liverpool equalised when Divock Origi scored from the edge of the area in the 51st.

Neves regained the lead for Wolves four minutes later, striking a low and fierce shot inside the near post past the initially unsighted Simon Mignolet.

Klopp started midfielders Rafael Camacho and Curtis Jones aged 18 and 17, respectively and sent on another debutant in 16-year-old Dutchman Ki-Jana Hoever in the sixth minute after centre back Dejan Lovren sustained a hamstring injury.

New record

Hoever, at 16 years and 354 days, became the youngest Liverpool player in FA Cup history and the third-youngest player to make a senior appearance for the team.

Hoever's introduction meant Liverpool played the majority of the match with a 16-year-old debutant and a Brazil midfielder, Fabinho, as their central-defensive partnership.

Only in the second half did Liverpool find their stride at Molineux. Xherdan Shaqiri came closest to forcing a replay when he curled in a free kick that was tipped on to the post by Wolves goalkeeper John Ruddy.

Liverpool have won the competition seven times, but not since 2006. They lead the league by four points after 21 games and are through to the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.

But some of the momentum in their season might have been lost, with the defeat to Wolves coming four days after a 2-1 loss at Manchester City their first league defeat of the season.