Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp was delighted to see Ben Woodburn become his club's youngest ever scorer in their 2-0 EFL Cup victory over Leeds United, but says that he must be protected from the media spotlight.
17-year-old Woodburn came off the bench to slam home Liverpool's second late in the game at Anfield on Tuesday night, and Klopp says that everyone at the club is aware of his talent.
'Everyone knows what Woodburn is capable of'
"We know what Ben is capable of," he said in his post-match press conference. "My job is to make sure that all of these boys can be the best and to keep the public away for as long as possible.
"We only bring him on because we want to use him, so when he is on the pitch he is absolutely allowed to score goals!
"I am really happy for him, the only thing I am worried about is all you guys [in the media]."
Youngsters continue to impress in cup competitions
Klopp chose to continue with his policy of using the League Cup to blood his younger prospects, but with a number of first-team players also in the starting eleven he was keen to stress that he is taking the competition seriously.
"All the young boys did very well in a very important game. We don't make [changes to our] line-ups to disrespect the tournament, we do it to win the game.
"We needed a mix of youth and experience and it worked well. It was not too beautiful but with eight changes against a deep formation, it worked well. I know how difficult it is but the second half was better.
"Leeds are really strong and they couldn't show tonight how strong they are. That's the biggest compliment I can give tonight."
With upcoming fixtures against Bournemouth, West Ham and Middlesbrough, Klopp will presumably be hoping for a return of nine points to go with a second successive League Cup semi-final appearance.
However, they will go into those games without the services of Philippe Coutinho, who the German has confirmed will be out of action for over a month.