I’m playing Liverpool in the FA Cup, and I have taken notes from Leny Yoro

Manchester United loanee Sonny Aljofree is set to play against Liverpool in the FA Cup with Accrington Stanley this weekend.

Sonny Aljofree joined League Two side Accrington Stanley on loan at the beginning of the season and has been performing well during his time there.

The 20-year-old Manchester United loanee has made 16 appearances for The ‘Owd Reds since his arrival, including two games in the FA Cup.

He played the full games in victories over Rushall and Swindon Town, which has put Stanley into the third-round of the competition for only the fourth time since 2011.

When they were drawn away at Anfield to face Liverpool, it was perhaps the dream tie for Aljofree, who has captained United at youth level.

Aljofree explains what he learnt from Yoro vs Liverpool

When asked by the Manchester Evening News if he had received any messages from those at his parent club after the draw, Aljofree said: “Just win. They’ve told me to sure that I take it in and not just let it go by.

“So just as much as it is a massive experience and there’ll be nerves around it, just trying to take it in and appreciating the kind of magnitude of the game that I’m hopefully going to be involved in.”

In an ideal world, Stanley cause a major upset at Anfield and Aljofree excels in the team’s back-three formation. The last time a team played Liverpool with that set-up was when Ruben Amorim’s side drew 2-2 last week.

It was a game that United probably deserved to win and Aljofree has explained that he had been paying close attention to that game, imagining himself in the defensive situations United’s defenders were in.

Leny Yoro made a very strong impression in that game, making a goal-saving tackle inside the area shortly after coming on. The Frenchman was one of the players United’s loanee was studying.

“United are playing a similar formation to what we play,” he continued, “so I was putting myself in the shoes of Yoro and De Ligt and the defenders, of what I’d be doing and picking up the little things that Liverpool do when they win the ball back or lose the ball and making sure I’m kind of manifesting what I’m going to be doing in that situation.

“It kind of put me in my head where I’d be on the pitch against those types of players, even if they don’t play that same team they’re going to be playing a similar style, so it was really good to watch.”

Aljofree will experience perfect moment at Anfield

Win or lose, this is the exact kind of opportunity that every youngster dreams of having when they are sent on loan.

In 2022, Aljofree came off the bench in the FA Youth Cup final victory against Nottingham Forest, which saw a team including Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho lift the trophy in front of 67,000 people at Old Trafford.

Those kind of situations are what can shape young players in football and getting as many of those as possible is the dream but they simply don’t often come around in youth football.

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Playing away at Liverpool in the FA Cup will give Aljofree many lessons to help him in his career no matter the scoreline, and it appears that he is going from strength to strength during this loan.

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