Klopp cautious over young Liverpool hero Ben Woodburn

Liverpool 2 Leeds 0

Liverpool are into the semi-final of the EFL Cup but they were made to work hard for their victory by Leeds United of the Championship. It took two late goals, one a record-breaking effort by teenager Ben Woodburn, to see off the Yorkshire side whose 5,000 fans added to the full-house atmosphere at Anfield.

As he has done throughout the tournament, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp fielded a second string side for the visit of the once-mighty Leeds, and they lacked fluency for much of the game. But the deadlock was finally broken on 76 minutes when Divock Origi shook off his marker and fired home a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

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Five minutes later Woodburn made history when he became the club's youngest goalscorer at the age of 17 years and 45 days. The Wales Under-19 international made his senior debut for Liverpool at the weekend in the league win over Sunderland, and he came off the bench against Leeds to break the record held by Michael Owen by 98 days.

Owen was in the stands and the former England striker later tweeted: "Another record taken from me!!! Congratulations @BenWoodburn on becoming the youngest ever scorer for @LFC."

The 2-0 scoreline was harsh on the visitors, who created several chances themselves, most notable was Kemar Roofe's shot that struck the inside of the post shortly after half-time, but Liverpool are now into a record 17th League Cup semi-final and will discover their last four opponents when the draw is made on Wednesday evening.

Not surprisingly the post-match press conference centred on Woodburn but Klopp refused to get carried away with the media hype. Admitting he was "really happy" for the academy graduate, Klopp continued: "I said well done to him afterwards. It [his goal] was not too difficult. I would have scored too in that situation."

Woodburn, who first played for Liverpool at under-sevens level, has risen steadily through the ranks of the academy, and he recently signed his first professional contract. "He still has a lot of things to do," said Klopp of the youngster. "We know what Ben is capable of and what he is already able to do."

While the German knows the club has a young player with great potential, what he's less sure about is how Woodburn will cope with the media pressure as he establishes himself in the first team. "The only problem is I'm afraid about all you in the media," he explained. "That's why I'm so quiet."