Harvey Elliott scored on his return to action as Liverpool eventually overcame Cardiff City at Anfield on Sunday to head through to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
The Reds were made to work hard by the Championship side but second-half goals from Diogo Jota, Takumi Minamino and Elliott saw them run out 3-1 winners, the second assisted by debutant Luis Diaz.
Steve Morison's Bluebirds spent the majority of the game defending but were well organised and frustrated Liverpool for large periods, and Rubin Colwill grabbed a consolation goal to delight the travelling Welsh fans.
The fifth-round draw was made before the game and Jurgen Klopp's side will host Norwich City next up.
Cardiff started brightly but it was Liverpool who should have been ahead early on after a clever turn from Jota ended with the Portugal international firing straight at Dillon Phillips.
The Premier League side struggled to break down a stubborn visiting defence and had to wait until the 34th minute for their next big chance as a nice move down the left ended with Minamino finding Curtis Jones, who hit his effort high into the Anfield Road End.
Liverpool were finally ahead in the 53rd minute as a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick was expertly glanced past Phillips' dive to his right by Jota.
There were big cheers again shortly after as Elliott and Diaz were brought off the bench by Klopp, and the Colombia international played a big role in Liverpool's second as he dispossessed Perry Ng before pulling the ball back for Minamino to fire home.
Elliott joined in the action as he fired a shot in at the Kop end after an Andy Robertson cross fell to him, before Colwill pulled one back with an equally impressive finish with 10 minutes to go.
What does it mean? Reds still in the hunt for four trophies
The fourth round of the FA Cup has not been kind to Klopp since his arrival in England.
In their six previous campaigns under the German, Liverpool have been eliminated at this stage on four occasions – more than any other side in the competition in this time.
However, they march on after a win here and remain as one of only two Premier League sides, along with Chelsea, who can still win at least four trophies this season.
Who needs Salah and Mane?
Liverpool had 82 per cent of possession in the first half but failed to carve out many meaningful chances.
The pressure told early in the second half, though, and this now makes it five wins out of six in all competitions since star duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane left for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Bluebirds must now sing in the league
Morison can be pleased with the effort of his team at Anfield, especially considering he made eight changes to the team that beat Barnsley last time out.
However, now their FA Cup journey is over they must find a way to show the same determination in the Championship, where they sit in 20th spot, nine points ahead of Peterborough United in the relegation zone but having played a game more.
What’s next?
Liverpool host Leicester City in the Premier League on Thursday while Cardiff are at home to Peterborough in the Championship on Wednesday.
Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak
Laurent Courtois has accepted that it is on him to find a winning formula as CF Montreal look to snap their winless run against Toronto FC.
Montreal were beaten 3-1 by Columbus Crew in midweek and are now without a victory in six games in all competitions.
That includes a three-game losing streak in MLS, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference, and Courtois is eager to get back on track.
"It's up to me to find the winning formulas and discern the phases of the game," head coach Courtois said after the loss to Columbus.
"We have to grit our teeth and find solutions. The difficult times we are going through help me identify my group. I want to know the players better.
"From all the negative aspects we can observe, I can identify a few individual aspects to improve the game or the team itself."
Monreal's rivals Toronto have themselves lost back-to-back games ahead of Saturday's Canadian Classique at BMO Field.
Nashville SC scored twice late on to snatch a 2-0 win in the Reds' most recent match, but acting head coach Jason deVos admits there can be no excuses.
"The last ten minutes, two mistakes cost us and that's the cruelty of football sometimes - that it's a 90-minute match and you need to put in a 90-minute performance in," he said.
"The players are aware of that. They know where the growth areas are for us as a team."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto - Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi missed the loss to Nashville but will hope to start this weekend in a fixture he has fond memories of.
The Italian has scored in each of his two home games against Montreal, making him the third Toronto player to score in two successive home games against them after Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley.
Montreal - Joel Waterman
Montreal have conceded three or more goals five times across their 12 MLS games this season, which is tied with San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS.
They quite simply need to sharpen up at the back, with Joel Waterman needing to step up and hope others around him also do so.. The centre-back led the way for interceptions (three) and clearances (four) against Columbus, yet it was still not enough.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Montreal have won five successive matches against Toronto, following a run of neither side ever winning more than three on the spin in this fixture.
Toronto have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches in which they have held opponents under two goals since September, while they have lost all 13 in which they have shipped two or more.
Keeping the opposition quiet is therefore key, and this could present a chance to do just that against a Montreal side with fewer points (five) than any side in MLS since mid-March.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto - 39.6%
Draw - 28.5%
Montreal - 31.9%
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
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