Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp labelled midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai a "top bloke" following his scorcher of a goal against Leicester City in the EFL Cup.
The Reds progressed to the fourth round courtesy of a 3-1 triumph over their Championship counterparts, but as has been the case several times already this season, Klopp's men were forced to come from behind to prevail.
With just three minutes on the clock, Leicester turned defence into attack in the blink of an eye, as Kasey McAteer nonchalantly rolled the ball into the far corner to give his side the lead, although Liverpool felt that Kostas Tsimikas had been fouled in the build-up.
Leicester held onto their slender advantage until half time, but just three minutes after the restart, Ryan Gravenberch found compatriot Cody Gakpo through a sea of Leicester shirts, and the Dutchman turned before emphatically finishing into the bottom corner.
After rattling the woodwork once more, Liverpool's search for a second finally paid dividends in the 70th minute, as Wataru Endo teed up Szoboszlai to fire a rocket of strike off the underside of the bar and into the back of the net from the edge of the D.
Several chances to kill the game off came and went for Liverpool, but with 89 minutes gone, Jarell Quansah cut back for Diogo Jota to delicately flick the ball into the side of the net via the post.
Szoboszlai's thunderous strike was his second goal for the club after he opened his account against Aston Villa earlier this month, and Klopp waxed lyrical about his summer signing following another impressive outing in red.
"It's so long ago that he's here I forgot what I thought when he came in. Since the first minute of training, it was pretty impressive. He's a top bloke, really top guy," Klopp said in his post-game press conference.
"Easy step into the team dressing room-wise and stuff like this. A very naturally confident boy and that helps and a super-hard worker and that's what you see. Today he came on and had two very difficult situations; he stepped on the first ball when he defended a counter-attack and lost the ball there.
"Then the next one I think he lost as well. From that moment on, he was just in the game. That is super-important. He enjoys it a lot being here and the people obviously appreciate it as well. It's a good situation. Long may it continue.
"I don't have to tell him to shoot, he knows that, he knows better than I that he has a pretty good skill. The next one, which goes slightly over, is another grenade.
"You can see that in Premier League games, everyone tries to block him, that's why he didn't come through yet – but if he comes through there's a good chance the ball could be in. A super goal.
"Wataru passed the ball through and in that moment, there is no midfielder there, there is no defender who can then hold him, that's why it is so important we are winning the ball to try to play the first pass forward or at least have a forward-orientated idea. That helped there, a lot. Good."
Liverpool's come-from-behind success over Leicester marked their seventh win in a row in all competitions - as well as their fourth 3-1 victory on the bounce - and the Reds will travel to Bournemouth for the fourth round on October 31.
Klopp's men now turn their attention back to the Premier League and a blockbuster tie with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening, where both teams' unbeaten starts to the campaign will be put to the test. body check tags ::
