Klopp hails Minamino as Ancelotti fumes after Everton’s FA Cup exit

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp described Takumi Minamino as “super and outstanding” after the Japanese international made his debut in the 1-0 FA Cup win over Everton on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Minamino, who signed for £7.25 million ($9.4 million) from Salzburg in Austria, was part of a much-changed Reds line-up at Anfield.

The 22-time international almost enjoyed a goal-scoring debut when he glanced a header wide of the mark before he was eventually replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after 70 minutes.

“Super, outstanding. Exactly the player we wanted, exactly the player we wished for,” said Klopp of his new forward.

“Your first game in a team you don’t know, if it’s a settled team it’s already difficult -- this team we threw more or less on the pitch with two sessions together.

“And then showing this kind of game understanding, football skills are exceptional, attitude is outstanding, led the chasing pack so often in different situations, which I loved.”

Meanwhile, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti is planning an immediate inquest into his side’s embarrassing defeat against Liverpool’s youngsters.

Ancelotti’s team wasted a golden opportunity to win at Anfield for the first time since 1999 as 18-year-old Curtis Jones fired Liverpool to a 1-0 win in the third round on Sunday.

Ancelotti had sent out a virtually full-strength team, but they wasted a host of chances in the first half before surrendering limply after the break.

Everton are without a win against Liverpool since 2010, making this a bitter first taste of the Merseyside derby for former Napoli boss Ancelotti, who is ready to discuss the tame display with his players.

“I am not used to speaking to the players after the game but I am going to speak to them about this,” Ancelotti said.

“I think in the second half we were not able to keep the right ideas on the pitch as we did in the first half, when we had the opportunity to score.

“The fact we didn’t score in the first half affected the performance in the second half, which was not good enough.”

It was suggested to Ancelotti that Everton had a mental block when it came to games at Anfield, but he said it was a matter of losing intensity in the second half.

“The line-up of Liverpool didn’t affect our idea. It was to play a good game. We knew Liverpool would put fresh players in and the intensity could be high,” Ancelotti said.

Agence France-Presse