Liverpool U18s ended a run of three successive defeats in all competitions as they beat Blackburn Rovers 4-2 away from home in their final Barclays U18s Premier League regular season clash.

The league now progresses to the play-off stages, and the victory that Neil Critchley's side took on Tuesday morning means they finish 7th in the final standings of the northern league group. The young Reds will now take on teams from the southern division in seven games before the end of the campaign.

Adam Phillips was the star, scoring a brace as the Reds bounced back from a 5-0 defeat Everton, a 2-1 UEFA Youth League loss to Benfica and a 3-1 league defeat to Newcastle United  within a week. 

Phillips scored Liverpool's first two goals, his second stealing the plaudits as he lashed a half-volley into the top corner.

Ovie Ejaria added a third after turning in Wade Maxwell's cross inside the area and left-back Sam Hart made it a resounding 4-0 after rounding the goalkeeper and slotting in. 

The Reds conceded two late goals to make the score look a little less glamorous, but U18s boss Neil Critchley was impressed with the fashion in which they brushed off recent setbacks. 

"It was nice for them to play well and to get the win," Critchley said. "That will give them some confidence and they were deserving of that today.

“We were excellent for 65 minutes. We dominated the game and scored some very good goals. We tired a little bit for the last 25 minutes and conceded two soft goals.

"We didn’t see the game out the way we would have liked to, but the performance for most of the match was very good. There were lots of positives to take from that."

Liverpool U18s: Firth, Brewitt, Masterson, Whelan (Polgar), Hart, Lewis, Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Chirivella (Travis), Ejaria, Maxwell (Nicholas).

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.