Rodgers: There'll be no United effects
Brendan Rodgers is confident that the 120-minute cup encounter against Notts County won't impact upon the performance of his senior players when Manchester United visit Anfield on Sunday.
The likes of Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Daniel Sturridge all featured for the full two hours as Liverpool required extra-time to see off the League One side 4-2, but Rodgers is not worried about the effects still being felt on Sunday.
And he is hopeful of adding quality reinforcements to his squad in the final week of the transfer window.
Rodgers said: "We've got plenty of recovery time now for the players. That was the idea - that I could put some of the senior guys in knowing there was enough recuperation period after the game, and obviously to give our young players good experience playing in a competitive game. Young Jordon Ibe is 17, Raheem 18 and Andre Wisdom 20 years of age.
"They'll all be fine, they'll recover well and we'll be excited now looking forward to that game on Sunday.
"We'll assess the injuries tomorrow but we'll just see what players are available for us.
"There's no doubt we need more numbers but it's about quality - hopefully we can bring that quality in."
There was a palpable sense of relief around Anfield when goals from Daniel Sturridge (his second) and Jordan Henderson finally finished the game, and Rodgers ended the night proud of his players.
"It's a bit of everything," he explained when asked how he felt about the evening that had unfolded.
"Being 2-0 up, to give away the goals we did we're obviously disappointed but I can only commend two groups: my players for the brilliant character they showed to keep going and fighting, and you have to give a big credit to Notts County.
"Being 2-0 down and us hitting the woodwork three times, they've still stayed in it. No matter what level players are at, when you go back to 2-1, they're always in with a chance of getting something.
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"Chris [Kiwomya] can be very proud of his team and their supporters were great tonight.
"I've got to give credit to the players because maybe a year ago we might have lost that game. They showed tremendous character after going down to 10 men. They probably controlled the game at that stage."
Asked if he feared the worst at any stage, Rodgers added: "I'm comfortable with the trust of my players now, with the way they work and the commitment to the cause they've got. You can't say you're ever totally comfortable - it's 2-2, it's going to extra-time and you're down to 10 men. But the players have a real togetherness and I could sense in the breakouts at the end of the game that they had that mentality now to get through."
Assessing his side's start to the season - with three wins out of three - Rodgers added: "It's been a terrific start.
"Some of our football tonight was very good but obviously it was a lot closer than we ever wanted it to be.
"The bottom line is we've had two tough games - Stoke and Aston Villa. To win them and tonight was never going to be easy, even though Notts County's form probably wasn't as they would want in the league.
"We've seen teams before coming to the big grounds and this is Wembley for Notts County. They can be very proud. I'm very proud of the character of the team, that they got through it and we're in the next round."