Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp defended his team selection for their FA Cup draw at Exeter City.

Debutants Tiago Ilori, Kevin Stewart and Ryan Kent were included in a starting line-up that had an average age of just 22.36 and a total of just 135 Liverpool appearances between them, with Christian Benteke and Jose Enrique the most senior players.

“It smelt and tasted like cup games do – the first round is always very difficult, in our situation especially," said Klopp.

“We tried to create a line-up under time pressure – [some loan players] came back yesterday and we trained together yesterday and this morning for around 40 minutes.

“We tried to create a common plan and idea. It was not too good, it was not too bad, but it showed that in football it's very important you work together and train together and we couldn't do that with this team.

“You saw in a lot of moments that Exeter did really well and we didn't defend it too well, we lost a lot of one-on-one situations. The pitch was difficult for both teams and it was not too easy for the young boys. In an atmosphere like this, there were legs getting tired and so on. It was good to strike back and we had a few more moments, but not enough in the end.

“We have to respect our situation and that's what we did. We were here to go through to the next round. It didn't work out 100 per cent – 50 per cent – so now we have another game at Anfield.

“It is like it is…and I can't believe we have another game!"