Liverpool academy boss John Owens was delighted with Jay Spearing's home debut in this week's triumph over Real Madrid.

He told liverpoolfc.tv: "The nature of the victory gives everyone at the club a huge lift. It was a great performance and a great result that was capped for everyone at the Academy by Jay's cameo.

"We are always hopeful that our graduates can make an impression on the first-team and for him to come on and get such a reaction from the crowd was brilliant.

"He did really well in the 20 minutes or so that he had. I think he showed he is capable of playing at that level and to come on and perform like that against a side like Madrid will no doubt give him a massive boost.

"All that an Academy can ever ask for is to see these youngsters given a chance. Whether they take it or not is down to them.

"Maybe I'm a little biased, but I thought he took his opportunity really well and hopefully it can be the platform for him to make many more appearances for the first-team in the future."