After successive disappointing defeats to Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Neil Critchley's Liverpool U18s responded emphatically at Kirkby Academy, brushing past Blackburn Rovers in a 5-0 thrashing.

Will Marsh and Sergi Canos were in fine form, sharing all five goals between them as they got claimed a well-earned three points.

The home side had the lead within 10 minutes, with hat-trick hero Marsh bagging his first after lobbing Rovers keeper Andrew Fisher from range, after he had come racing off his line. 

Fisher was called upon a number of times to thwart Liverpool building upon their advantage, as Marsh caused trouble. But Blackburn steadily grew into the game and began to cause problems from the flanks, as Andrew Firth in the Reds' goal twice kept out headers from Lewis Mansell and Matty Platt.

But with the visitors growing in confidence, Marsh stepped up again to give Critchley's side a two-goal cushion. After being released by the highly-rated Herbie Kane, Marsh cut inside from the right flank and his effort deflected beyond Fisher to make it 2-0 on 35 minutes.

Trent Alexander almost ensured it was 3-0, but could only fire over the crossbar but Marsh was there again to seal a first-half hat-trick and a healthy advantage going into the break. After again being found by Kane, it was a simple tap-in for the number nine.

After the break, Rovers created a wealth of opportunities as they searched for a lifeline and Sam Joel should have cut the deficit after his shot was too powerful for Firth to grasp from close-range, but they were ultimately made to regret their wastefulness.

Seven minutes from time, substitute duo Spaniard Sergi Canos and Sam Hart combined, before the former curled over Fisher to seal a fourth, and he made it 5-0 in stoppage time after being found by Alexander. The 17-year-old Barcelona starlet chipped over the Blackburn goalkeeper to seal a 5-0 win. A good day out for Neil Critchley and his side, and they face Real Madrid U18s in the UEFA Youth League at Kirkby on Tuesday, kick-off is at 2pm.