Japan’s very own Takumi Minamino was the toast of the town after his two goals helped Liverpool into the quarterfinals of the 2021/22 FA Cup. Minamino’s first-half brace was enough for the Reds to see off Norwich City 2-1 at Anfield to ensure progression into the FA Cup last eight for the first time in Jurgen Klopp’s tenure.
Fresh off winning the 2021/22 EFL Cup, Liverpool take on relegation-threatened Norwich in one of the two all-Premier League ties in this year’s FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday. Klopp showcased the incredible depth that his Liverpool side had by deploying 10 changes from the starting eleven that saw off Chelsea in a marathon EFL Cup final last weekend, with Minamino, an unused sub in the final, being entrusted with leading the Liverpool attack alongside cult hero Divock Origi and Diogo Jota.
Origi teed up Minamino for Liverpool’s first goal in the 27th minute before the former Cerezo Osaka player doubled his tally in the 39th minute, having been left unmarked and allowed all the time and space to fire one home past Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul.
Dean Smith’s Norwich did not give up that easily having gone two goals down and the Canaries earn themselves a consolation in the 76th minute thanks to Lukas Rupp, but it was too little too late as Liverpool managed to get the better out of Norwich for the fourth time this season – the first time the Reds did a quadruple over their opponent in a season. Prior to Wednesday’s FA Cup triumph, Liverpool had beaten Norwich twice in the league and once en route to the League Cup title.
Klopp voiced his delight over Minamino’s performance, praising the Japanese international, “He looked extremely sharp. He showed all the things he knows for sure he has in him. It was a complete performance. The two goals were great but all the rest he did was top class as well.”
Despite rarely seeing action in the league, Minamino has proven himself to be a reliable player for the cups, having scored four goals in Liverpool’s five EFL Cup matches, although he had to sit out the final in favor of Liverpool’s trusted attackers in Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and new signing Luis Diaz. Despite this, Klopp assured that Minamino had played a huge part in Liverpool’s journey this season.
“Not playing in the final might have been hard in the moment but in the long term, he could look back on the fact that he had won the EFL Cup and that could be a good thing,” Klopp said.
Progression in the FA Cup meant that Liverpool are still on course to win an unprecedented quadruple. The EFL Cup is already in the bag, while Liverpool are still breathing down Manchester City’s neck in the Premier League table while having one foot in the Champions League quarterfinal thanks to their 2-0 last 16 first leg win away at Inter Milan.
The FA Cup also remain as the only trophy that Klopp has yet to win during his tenure at Liverpool, with this year being the first time that he had guided the Reds into the quarterfinals.