Liverpool Lose Out 2-1 to Aston Villa in the FA Youth Cup Final

Though the Reds gave a good account of themselves following some early struggles, Liverpool fell short at Villa Park this afternoon.

Liverpool U18s came into the final hoping to follow up on their 2019 victory in the competition, and entered the match today having won the competition four times.

Aston Villa started strongly, scoring two goals quick goals before Liverpool managed to settle. After just eight minutes, Ben Chrisene’s shot from the edge of the area found the back of the net, and Brad Young added another from the penalty spot just four minutes later.

The Reds recovered their composure following this early flurry, though Villa went close on a number of occasions in the first 45 minutes.

Mateusz Musialowski, Liverpool’s leading scorer in the competition, looked the most likely to score for the Reds in the opening half, doing well to win the ball back on a couple of occasions, but failed to put his chances on target.

Liverpool keeper Harvey Davies did well to keep his side in the game with a set of good saves early in the second half, once recovering after losing his footing to keep Carney Chukwuemeka out.

Melkamu Frauendorf, who came on as second half substitute, pulled a goal back for Liverpool in the 73rd minute with a sharp, deflected shot from a Liverpool corner, setting up an entertaining final twenty minutes.

Following Frauendorf’s goal. Davies came up strong again with a close-range save, stopping Villa’s Jacob Ramsey from immediately pulling one back.

Though the Reds had a set of quality late chances, they were unable to find the net, failing to collect their second FA Youth Cup in three years. While the side fell short, their mentality was clear as the Young Reds kept their heads up following the disastrous opening fifteen minutes.

Aston Villa picked up their fourth FA Youth Cup in front of 7,450 home fans, winning the Cup for the first time since 2002, and for the first time in the single-game final format.

Liverpool: Davies, Bradley, Norris, Quansah, Koumetio, Stephenson, Corness (Frauendorf, 46), Morton, Woltman, Balagizi, Musialowski.

Unused substitutes: Jonas, Mrozek, Wilson, Chambers, Mabaya, Bajcetic.