Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrated wearing the captain’s armband with a stunning strike as Liverpool saw off the resistance of plucky underdogs Accrington Stanley.
The League Two outfit made light of the 86 places between them and the Premier League leaders until Diogo Jota broke the deadlock following a swift counter-attack after half-an-hour.
Alexander-Arnold, who has been strongly linked with a summer move to Real Madrid when his contract at Anfield expires in the summer, added a second on the stroke of half-time by rifling a shot from 20 yards. Substitutes Jayden Danns and Federico Chiesa then put a gloss on the win late on.
Rio Ngumoha impressed on his debut aged just 16 but Accies can also be proud of the spirited show they put on for their noisy supporters and went close themselves when Josh Woods hit the woodwork at 2-0.
Darwin Nunez was involved in the action as Liverpool pressed for an early advantage.
He swiped at a chance set up by Harvey Elliott and then blasted over after Alexander-Arnold’s shot had been parried by Accrington goalkeeper William Crellin, an Everton loanee.
Trent Alexander-Arnold put Liverpool in a commanding position before the break with a stunning drive
The right-back marked captaining the side with a crisp shot that arrowed into the top corner
Federico Chiesa came off the bench to score his first goal for the Reds since his summer arrival
To the credit of the League Two underdogs, they had a go back when they could.
Wataru Endo, playing as an emergency centre-half with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate not in the squad, was troubled when the underdogs pressed.
There was mild panic in the Liverpool penalty-area when wing-back Josh Woods was unmarked at the far post but found the angle too tight.
Ngumah showed plenty of confidence wide on the left. He wasn’t afraid to feint and dribble and there was a surge in anticipation whenever the ball got to him.
The possession stats after 25 minutes read at 83% for Liverpool but it didn’t feel like that with Crellin rarely bothered during that period.
Ironically, it was when Accrington pushed forward that the home side struck.
A foul by Ngumoha gave the visitors a free-kick which allowed them to push men up for the set-piece.
Tsimikas headed a clearance and from there Liverpool broke with rapid conviction.
Diogo Jota opened the scoring for Arne Slot’s side after a trademark Liverpool counter
The League Two side gave a good account of themselves and were even able to trouble Reds stopper Caoimhin Kelleher
Accrington boss John Doolan would have been pleased by much of what he saw from his team at Anfield
First-time passes by Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexander-Arnold released Nunez in acres of space down the right.
For once, the Uruguayan got his head up and showed composure to slide a pass into Jota’s feed to tap home from six yards.
It was the Portuguese international’s seventh goal of the season and made the first Liverpool player to score against Accrington since 1950s legend Billy Liddell.
The goal seemed to relax Liverpool. Crellin was called into action to save from Elliott as they looked to kill the game off. Tyler Morton tried an audacious curler from 25 yards and wasn’t far off-target.
Alexander-Arnold, who seemed to relish wearing the armband despite uncertainty over his future, capped an impressive display with a goal that showed off his quality.
After Ngumoha had a shot blocked, the full-back picked up the ball on the right edge of the penalty are drilled it into the top corner before Crellin could react.
There was a loud cheer from The Kop as the scorer was announced. Alexander-Arnold would have enjoyed that after being criticised for links with Real Madrid and even Accies manager John Doolan – he once coached six-year-old Trent at the Liverpool academy.
Federico Chiesa, who won the Italian Cup with Juventus last season, replaced Szoboszlai at half-time for his first experience of the English version.
Jayden Danns came off the bench to score his third goal for the club, with all three coming in the FA Cup
Chiesa was rewarded for his impressive 45 minutes as he tried to prove to Arne Slot that he can withstand the rigours of English football
He fired into the side-netting but there was even greater excitement at the other end when Stanley almost pulled a goal back in front of their fans.
Josh Woods cracked a shot from the edge of the area which beat Caoimhin Kelleher only to thunder back off the crossbar. It was agonisingly close for Woods – a lifelong Liverpool fan.
Donald Love, a former Manchester United player, then missed out on his moment of glory by heading over from a corner.
Ngumoha got an embrace from manager Arne Slot when he was replaced after 72 minutes. It was an impressive debut but for the closing stages the Liverpool manager wanted his side to regain the momentum.
It worked in that the 18-year-old replacement Danns added a third Liverpool goal four minutes after his arrival. He set up Chiesa who was foiled by Crellin but followed up to poach the rebound.
Chiesa even had time to then score his first goal in English football following an injury-interrupted campaign, beating Crellin with a precise strike from just outside the penalty area.
Even so, the minnows could hold their head high. The famous milk advert which ran for six years from 1989 had a young Liverpool fan asking: ‘Accrington Stanley, who are they?’ They can be proud of showing everyone at Anfield they are a proper football team.
