Liverpool winger, 16, scores twice as Philippe Coutinho comparison made

Liverpool's climbed off the bottom of the table on Saturday.

Joe Bradshaw, a 16-year-old winger, maintained his recent hot streak by netting twice in the Reds' 4-2 triumph at the Academy in Kirkby. Scofield Lonmeni and Oliver O'Connor also got on the scoresheet for Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's team, who have now tasted defeat just once in their last four outings across all competitions.

After a lively start featuring opportunities for both sides, Liverpool broke the deadlock on the 13-minute mark courtesy of Clae Ewing's assist from the left flank, setting up Lonmeni whose curling shot took a deflection off Sunderland's Fin Holcroft. The visitors restored parity on 31 minutes when O'Connor was deemed to have fouled Holcroft inside the box, allowing Trey Ogunsuyi to level the score from the penalty spot. However, seized control in the second half.

On 61 minutes, a counter-attack spearheaded by the standout performers Kareem Ahmed and Josh Sonni-Lambie culminated in Ewing providing another assist for Bradshaw to tap in. Bradshaw found the back of the net again on the 77th minute after being picked out by Ahmed.

Ogunsuyi set up a tense finale with his second goal in the 90th minute, but deep into stoppage time, O'Connor emulated a memorable Philippe Coutinho strike by dispatching a low free-kick from the edge of the box that snuck under the leaping Sunderland wall and nestled in the bottom corner.

Liverpool's U18s team is set to face Manchester City in its next Premier League North fixture this coming Saturday, with kick-off scheduled for 11:30 am local time.