Liverpool survived an FA Cup humiliation in controversial circumstances as Arne Slot's side were forced all the way by Barnsley in the 4-1 victory at Anfield.
The Reds were clear favourites ahead of Monday night's tie to cruise past the League One strugglers, who have picked up just one point in their last four league games. But it proved to be a game that a strong Liverpool side failed to convince in again as they booked their place in the fourth-round to play Brighton at home thanks to Florian Wirtz's late strike.
Pressure on Slot’s job at the start of the season during Liverpool’s woeful run of nine defeats in 12 games has been relieved due to the Reds somewhat finding their feet again in recent weeks, but they are far from at their rocking best and have the poor form of Manchester United and Chelsea to thank for still being in the top four of the Premier League.
Dominik Szoboszlai goal
Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring with a wonderstrike (Image: PA)
But questions might soon start to be asked again about the Dutchman after it was announced earlier on Monday that Xabi Alonso has left his position as Real Madrid manager.
Alonso appeared as the leading candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, but the Spaniard opted to take the reins of Madrid instead. But after a turbulent seven months, Alonso is back on the market.
Speculation will no doubt start again linking Alonso to the Liverpool managerial job if the Reds don’t go on a good run of results and performances, and just 30 seconds into the cup clash, headlines were almost being written when Davis Keillor-Dunn headed onto the post.
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso's exit from Real Madrid could pile the pressure on Arne Slot (Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool survived that effort and a couple of other promising flurries from Conor Hourihane's determined League One outfit as there were no doubt some nerves in the Anfield crowd.
But after eight minutes, Dominik Szoboszlai erased those concerns and had the entire stadium on its feet when he fired home a wonderstrike from 25 yards to give the hosts the lead.
The Hungarians’ goal looked to have put Liverpool on their way but Barnsley continued to be the better side. A couple of testing crosses went without a final product before Giorgi Mamardashvili had to make a smart stop to deny a shot from outside the box.
Keillor-Dunn then saw a second sight of goal when he squared up Virgil van Dijk on the edge of the box before skipping past him and firing a shot straight at the Georgian stopper.
Dominik Szoboszlai
Dominik Szoboszlai made an embarrassing error
Yet another flash of brilliance in red saw Liverpool double their lead when Jeremie Frimpong’s quick burst of speed drove inside and unleashed a rocket of a left-footed strike that fired into the roof of the net in the 36th minute.
However, the game was brought back to life when former Reds youngster Adam Phillips pounced on a shocking, arrogant mistake from Szoboszlai just yards out from his own goal.
Intercepting a through ball chasing back towards his own penalty box, Szoboszlai took a heavy touch to keep the ball away from Phillips and began to dribble across the face of his own goal.
But Phillips didn't give up and was given the easiest goal of his career when the Hungarian attempted a backheel in his own six-yard box, but humiliatingly missed the ball, allowing Barnsley the chance to halve the deficit and head into half-time at 2-1, which was greeted by cheers from Barnsley fans and murmurs of discontent from frustrated Liverpool supporters.
Liverpool emerged from the break looking to dominate possession and extinguish Barnsley’s fire, but that didn’t happen as well as Slot was hoping for as he called on Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Ibrahima Konate off the bench before the hour mark.
Barnsley penalty
Barnsley were denied a penalty for this Dominik Szoboszlai challenge (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Despite the changes, Liverpool received a huge reprieve when referee Farai Hallam controversially waved away a huge penalty claim when Szoboszlai bundled over Reyes Cleary as the Barnsley forward advanced through on goal.
The referee dismissed the protests but TNT Sport pundit Ally McCoist was convinced the handful of Clearly’s shirt and contact on his right foot was enough for a penalty to be awarded. “That's a penalty. Definitely. It's not even up for debate. Szoboszlai pulls Cleary's shirt and catches his right foot as well. I'm not surprised Conor Hourihane is animated on the sideline,” he said.
Liverpool's warning was clearly not heeded by Wirtz as he wasted the chance to bury the tie in the 75th minute. A ball whipped in from the Reds found the German unmarked six yards out, but his attempt at a nonchalant finish with the outside of his boot spooned embarrassingly over the bar, seeing McCoist pose more questions at Liverpool's arrogance.
But Wirtz showed more assurance in front of goal 10 minutes later when he whipped an effort into the top corner from just inside the box to finally end the contest. The relief around the ground was palpable as for the first time in almost an hour, Liverpool looked comfortable in the game.
Hourihane's gallant team didn't know they were down and out as Barnsley continued to create chances, but those attacks allowed Wirtz to break clear and assist Ekitike for the hosts' fourth deep into stoppage time.
The scoreline does not tell the whole story at all as Barnsley battled throughout. The controversial decision not to award a penalty will long be debated as a major turning point in the game.