Liverpool 1-5 to win Club World Cup in Qatar after beating Monterrey

Liverpool are just 1-5 with Hills to win the Club World Cup after sealing their place in Saturday’s final with a 2-1 win over Monterrey in Doha.

The Reds were made to work hard for their victory by the spirited Mexicans and were thankful for Roberto Firmino’s last-gasp winner as the game looked to be heading into extra-time.

Naby Keita – a 14-1 shot to open the scoring – put the European champions ahead after just 12 minutes but Monterrey levelled through Rogelio Funes Mori just two minutes later.

The Premier League leaders will be up against Brazilian side Flamengo, who are 10-3 with Hills to scupper the Merseysiders’ hopes of more silverware.

Aston Villa eased into the semi-finals of the EFL Cup – their first since 2013 – with Tuesday’s 5-0 dismantling of a much-depleted Liverpool side.

Dean Smith’s Villans were 3-10 to win inside 90 minutes after Liverpool elected to field their youngest-ever starting line-up with an average age of 19 years, six months and three days as a result of their Qatar commitments.

Villa also made ten changes from the side that lost at Sheffield United on Saturday, but their superior experience proved critical and they were 4-0 up at half-time.

Irish midfielder Conor Hourihane opened the scoring at 9-1, while the 5-0 scoreline had been a 25-1 shot with Paddy Power. Despite the emphatic victory, Villa were unchanged at 9-1 for EFL Cup glory prior to Wednesday’s three quarter-finals.

Liverpool have added extra depth to their title-chasing squad with the signing of Japanese winger Takumi Minamino from Austrian champions RB Salzburg.

Minamino, who impressed when scoring for Salzburg in a 4-3 defeat in the Champions League at Anfield in October, is set to join Jurgen Klopp’s side on January 1.

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