Coutinho strike keeps Liverpool's season alive

Blackburn 0 Liverpool 1.

A second-half goal from Philippe Coutinho was enough to take Liverpool into the FA Cup semi-final and a meeting with Aston Villa at Wembley on Sunday week.

It was another scratchy performance from the Reds, who went into the match after back-to-back league defeats against Manchester United and Arsenal, but Coutinho's goal on 70 minutes eventually broke the deadlock and kept the Reds on course for Brendan Rodgers' first trophy in his third season in charge.

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Rodgers told the media after the victory that rumours of 'crisis talks' at Anfield in the wake of the league defeats were exaggerated, and that the squad had simply met to review what had gone wrong against United and Arsenal.

"A lot has been made of that meeting but the review was very important in how we want to work," explained Rodgers. "I'm a coach who speaks openly to players. If you don't review and analyse your performance, how can you get better?"

Rubbishing suggestions the meeting had been a 'clear-the-air' showdown, Rodgers added: "I'd seen all of this about saving our season. It wasn't about saving our season. We just needed to stay calm. Our two performances against Arsenal and Manchester United weren't to the standards we'd set for three months. … It's something that we've done all year. It provides us the lever to move forward – how can we be better, how can we improve?"

Liverpool were without the suspended trio of Steven Gerrard, Emre Can and Martin Skrtel, though they did have Jordan Henderson in their starting line-up, despite the midfielder's wife having given birth to their second daughter just hours before. "Jordan had to go away, he hadn't slept much and then travelled all the way back again," explained Rodgers. "Some players would have missed the game but Jordan said to me: 'Boss, as soon as the baby is out I will be coming back'." Not only did he come back but Henderson also had a hand in the all-important goal, swapping passes with Coutinho who then rifled the ball past Simon Eastwood in the Blackburn goal.

The hero of the night, however, was Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet, whose two outstanding saves from Tom Cairney and Ben Marshall early in the second-half, prevented the Championship side taking the lead. And the Belgian ensured there would be no late equaliser deep into stoppage time when he blocked Eastwood's shot after the Blackburn goalkeeper had arrived in the Liverpool area in a desperate bid to force a goal.

"We knew this was vital for us and for the supporters," reflected Rodgers. "As a team we wanted it. It wasn't about saving our season. We want to compete at the top end of the league and win trophies."