Liverpool are out of the FA Youth Cup after a 4-3 defeat to Chelsea in the fifth round.
The Reds looked to have sealed their place in the quarter-final stage of the competition when Oakley Cannonier added to first half goals from Luke Chambers and Kaide Gordon to extend his side's advantage to three goals early in the second half.
However, a remarkable second half fightback from the visitors saw them fire four goals in the final 20 minutes to complete one of the competition's greatest turnarounds and leave those watching on at Kirkby shellshocked.
Manager Marc Bridge-Wilkinson opted for a strong side for the visit of one of the country’s finest academies as Gordon — fresh from his recent outings with Jurgen Klopp’s senior side — formed part of a talented forward quartet for the Reds as he lined-up alongside Melkamu Frauendorf, Bobby Clarke, and 23-goal hotshot Cannonier.
Though the opening goal came from an unfamiliar source as under-18s captain Luke Chambers fired past Prince Adegoke with just five minutes gone.
It was courtesy of some fantastic footwork from Frauendorf on the left-hand side that carved open the opportunity, as he knocked the ball through the legs of his opponents before sending Chambers clean through. The left-back drove into the box and fired emphatically into the far corner to give his side a dream start.
It was clear Bridge-Wilkinson’s side had identified some sort of weakness down Chelsea's right as Chambers returned the favour to Frauendorf down the same side just moments after the goal, but his effort whistled past the far post.
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Seventeen-year-old Gordon started the night operating off the right-hand side as continually looked to cut in on his favored left-foot, but it wasn't long before he was forced to switch sides with Frauendorf — where he experienced plenty of joy while linking up with his captain —after being restricted to just a handful of touches during the opening proceedings as he appeared to be somewhat doubled-up on by defenders.
And that slight switch yielded the perfect result as Gordon grabbed the second five minutes before the interval. Isaac Mabaya and James Balagizi superbly played their way around Chelsea’s press before the latter fed Gordon, who made no mistake in smashing his effort to the near-post to give Bridge-Wilkinson’s side a comfortable lead going into half-time.
Early in the second half the Londoners applied plenty of pressure towards Liverpool’s backline, with Harvey Davies forced to pull off an excellent save to deny Silko Thomas from close range.
The Reds thought they had put the game beyond the reach of their opponents when a corner was cleared as far as Frauendorf on the halfway line, who found himself one-on-one with a Chelsea defender inside his own half.
Cannonier raced into a position of support for the German, who subsequently played him through, and he made no mistake in grabbing his 24 th goal of a magnificent campaign after a composed finish into the bottom left corner.
Though the youngsters appeared to surrender their grip on the tie when Charlie Webster’s deflected effort flew past Davies, which was almost immediately followed up by forward Jude Soonsup-Bell reducing the deficit to just one as Liverpool showed their first sign of nerves with just 15 minutes left to play.
Mabaya was on the end of some misfortune just moments later when his clearance from inside the box hit a Chelsea man and somehow flew into the bottom corner, before the visitors completed the comeback – and booked their place in the last eight of the competition - in added time after a goal-mouth scramble.
Liverpool U18s: Davies, Davidson, Miles, Jonas (McConnell, 75), Chambers, Mabaya, Balagizi, Clark (Pilling, 90+), Gordon, Frauendorf, Cannonier (Blair, 80).
