League Cup: Liverpool Go Past MK Dons, Set Arsenal Clash In 4th Round

Jurgen Klopp included four teenagers in the starting line-up as Liverpool FC defeated MK Dons 0-2 in League Cup on Wednesday.

Wearing the captain's armband, James Milner opened the scoring in the 41st minute before he provided a cross for 17-year-old Ki-Jana Hoever to score his first senior goal.

Another teenager, Harvey Elliot hit the bar twice and missed an easy chance from a close range. But, the former Fulham midfielder had his own piece of history. At 16 years and 174 days, Elliott became the youngest-ever player to start a competitive match for Liverpool.

The other teenagers, who made their Liverpool senior team debuts, were 20-year-old keeper Caoimhin Kelleher and 19-year-old forward Rhian Brewster, who was the Reds' top scorer in pre-season.

Liverpool was eliminated in the third round stage the previous two seasons by Chelsea and Leicester in the League Cup. Hence, Klopp had enough experience in place along with four teenage debutants. The likes of Naby Keita, Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana and Joe Gomez started along with Milner.

"The man is on fire. He is a real role model for young players. The team had a lack of experience and a lack of rhythm and the player with the most experience and rhythm was the best player," Klopp said, hailing Milner as a role model.

Liverpool's first goal was a result of a howler from MK Dons' goalie, Stuart Moore. He had Milner's fierce strike well covered but the ball bounced off his chest into the net to put the away side 0-1 up.

The last time Milner had scored in the League Cup was nine years back against Manchester United when he played for Ashton Villa.

In the first half, the home side, MK Dons failed to capitalize on two terrific chances through Conor McGrandles and Sam Nombe. In the second half, their forward Jordan Bowery hit the post before Hoever's stunning header in the 69th minute sealed Liverpool's place in the last-16.

Even though they lost the match, the League One side, MK Dons, witnessed a club record 28,521 attendance at Stadium MK.

During the post-match interview, MK Dons boss Paul Tisdale said he was proud of the way his boys played but, at the same time, he was disappointed as well that they failed to score a single goal.

"That is football. I regret not getting in at half-time 0-0, it was a position-based performance about keeping it tight. That wasn't to be but I thought it was a really good night - I didn't enjoy it myself but most people here would have enjoyed the game," Tisdale added.