Arthur Melo made his first appearance since September as Liverpool u21s enjoyed a pleasing afternoon of Premier League 2 action as they defeated Leicester City 7-1 at Kirkby.
Goals from Bobby Clark and Ben Doak, either side of Chituru Odunze's first-half own goal, and a flurry of strikes after the interval from Billy Koumetio, Max Woltman and Layton Stewart ensured the young Reds put their recent struggles behind them with just a second league victory of 2023.
Manager Barry Lewtas was afforded the luxury of being able to name a strong side at The Academy with Juventus loanee Arthur, who has not played at any level since undergoing surgery on a thigh issue in October, starting alongside Clark and Dominic Corness in midfield.
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Yet despite the presence of the 22-cap Brazil international, it was Clark who caught the eye early on as continued his flourishing relationship with Doak down the right and was well-placed to sweep home the Scot's low-driven cross after just five minutes.
The former Celtic winger had the beating of Foxes' full-backs Denchie Hill and Joe Wormleighton all afternoon and in doing so he continued to exhibit why his inclusion in Jurgen Klopp's first-team has been greeted with such open arms this campaign despite his tender years.
But after a dominant start, visitors made their mark three minutes later as Marcelo Pitaluga failed to deal with a speculative effort from range and allowed Kian Pennant to reap the rewards of his misfortune.
However that minor knock-back from the division's lowest-placed side didn't affect Lewtas' side as Clark and Doak combined almost instinctively soon after, with the former Newcastle United midfielder executing a fine defence-splitting pass to send Doak clear. Only to be denied by Odunze in the Leicester City goal.
The 17-year-old would soon make up for his earlier foiled effort when he somehow rose highest to head home Corness' inswinging delivery from the resultant corner after 40 minutes.
Liverpool's first half work wasn't done there, however, as Doak dazzled his counterparts to make serious inroads into the 18-yard box before pulling the trigger from an acute angle with his weaker left foot. And if the teenager thought his luck was out when he was denied by his coequal minutes earlier, then the fortuitous ricochet from Odunze's head that took the ball off the post and into the back of the net more than made amends to hand the Reds a healthy two-goal lead at the break.
No changes from Lewtas during the interval meant the young Scot was allowed to wreak havoc in the second half. Doak doubled his tally nine minutes later when a blistering break from Harvey Blair ended in a sweeping ball across the face of the goal proving too inviting not to turn home.
But despite the young Reds' three-goal lead, a few sloppy passes from Pitaluga allowed Leicester City substitute Brandon Cover to carve out a string of half chances that his team-mates were unable to capitalise on.
Midway through the second half though, following the introduction of Woltman and Stewart, Liverpool added a fifth as Koumetio climbed highest to ensure the ever-impressive Corness collected a second assist of the game and eliminated any lingering fears of a way back into the contest for the Foxes.
Despite plans to substitute Doak in the final stages of the fixture with one eye undoubtedly on Wednesday's UEFA Youth League clash against Porto, there was still time for the forward to have one final say on proceedings as he teed up Woltman for a tap-in after another breathtaking dribbling spree.
That allowed substitute Stewart to mark his return from a three-month injury lay-off with a composed finish right at the death as he latched onto Lee Jonas' inch-perfect through-ball.
Liverpool are next in Premier League 2 action at Arsenal on Monday, March 6.
TEAM: Pitaluga, Stephenson (Miles) Jonas, Koumetio, Beck; Corness, Arthur, Clark; Doak (Frauendorf) Musialowski (Woltman), Blair (Stewart)
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