Liverpool has always been a club to hand its youngsters opportunities - although never quite like it did just over five years ago in the Carabao Cup.

The Reds have enjoyed plenty of success in the competition in recent years, having won it twice since 2022, and they could still lift a third one this year if they can overcome a 1-0 deficit in their semi-final against Tottenham.

Back in December 2019 though, their run came to an end at the quarter-final stage in the strangest of circumstances. With Jurgen Klopp’s first-team away in Qatar for the Club World Cup at the time, it was left to the club’s youth team stars to take on Aston Villa for a place in the semi-finals.

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It didn’t go to plan for the young Reds, with a much more senior Villa side boasting the likes of Douglas Luiz and Jack Grealish in their squad claiming a 5-0 win.

Liverpool fans have had a somewhat unexpected reminder of that game in the last 24 hours, with 22-year-old midfielder Tom Hill, who made his only senior appearance in that game, having made a permanent exit from Anfield as he joins League Two side Harrogate Town.

But what happened to the other players who featured that night at Villa Park? We’ve taken a look at where each of Hill’s former teammates are now.

Caoimhin Kelleher

An instantly recognizable name for Liverpool fans. Caoimhin Kelleher has of course gone on to become deputy to Alisson Becker, and has more than played his part in Liverpool's success in recent years.

In fact, the Irishman has played in two Carabao Cup finals since that day at Villa Park, proving to be the hero on both occasions against Chelsea by scoring the winning penalty in 2022, before producing an inspired display in 2024.

His time at Liverpool is likely to be coming to an end soon though, with Valencia's Giorgi Mamardashvili set to arrive in the summer, and Kelleher holding aspirations of becoming a No.1.

Morgan Boyes

Center-back Morgan Boyes was unfortunate to put through his own net for Villa's second on what was his senior debut. He would go on to make another first-team appearance that season, coming off the bench against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup.

Boyes joined Fleetwood on a season-long loan in the summer of 2020, only for his time in League One to be cut short as he was recalled the following January. Just a couple of days later, he made the permanent move to Scottish Premiership side Livingston.

Since then, he has also had a spell on loan at Inverness, and now aged 23, he is at Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton, where he has made 19 appearances this season.

Sepp van den Berg

Another name that Liverpool fans will recognize, Sepp van den Berg spent five years at with the Reds, although most of that time was spent away on loan with spells at Preston, Schalke and Mainz.

Van den Berg made no secret of his disappointment at the lack of opportunities he got at Anfield, and rallied hard in order to get a move away last summer. He eventually got his wish as he made a permanent transfer to Brentford, where he has made 22 appearances in all competitions so far, including last weekend's 2-0 defeat against his former side.

Tony Gallacher

Signed from Scottish club Falkirk in 2018, Tony Gallacher made his senior debut for Liverpool at left-back against Villa in what proved to be his only appearance for the first-team.

The following summer, he joined MLS side Toronto FC on loan. Despite playing for one of the three Canadian teams in the league, Gallacher actually never got to play in the country due to COVID-19 restrictions, with all of his games for Toronto coming on the road.

In 2022, he made the permanent transfer to St Johnstone, and he remains in Scotland to this day, although the 25-year-old now plies his trade for Hamilton Academical after securing a switch earlier this month.

Ki-Jana Hoever

There was plenty of excitement about Ki-Jana Hoever when he joined Liverpool from Ajax's academy in 2018, with the Dutch giants said to have been devastated to have lost the versatile defender. His time on Merseyside was short-lived though.

Hoever had already made two senior appearances for the Reds before the Villa game, and even scored against MK Dons in an earlier round of the Carabao Cup, becoming the fourth-youngest player to score for the club at the age of 17 years, eight months and 10 days. He would make one more first-team appearance against Shrewsbury a couple of months later before transferring to Wolves five months later.

Hoever has made just 25 appearances for Wolves since making that move, with the last few years spent away on loan with PSV, Stoke City and now at Auxerre, where he has made 15 appearances. His contract at Wolves is set to expire next year.

Pedro Chirivella

Pedro Chirivella was one of the more experienced players against Villa, having joined Liverpool as a 16-year-old from Valencia back in 2013. In fact, he had looked to be on the cusp of earning a regular sport in the first-team squad after making his first Premier League start against Swansea in May 2016, but he wouldn't make another senior appearance for the Reds until September 2019.

He would go on to make three more appearances in the FA Cup after Villa before joining Nantes in June 2020. Now aged 27, he remains with the French side to this day, having made 160 appearances while being made the club's captain in 2023.

Herbie Kane

Midfielder Herbie Kane made his second and final senior appearance for Liverpool against Villa. He would join Hull City on loan just a couple of weeks later before securing a permanent switch to Barnsley the following October.

Kane made 123 appearances during his time with the Tykes, with 37 games on loan at Oxford United during the 2021/22 season thrown in for good measure. Now 26, he remains in Yorkshire, only now he plies his trade for Huddersfield, having made the switch last summer.

Isaac Christie-Davies

Isaac Christie-Davies is another whose sole first-team appearance came against Villa, with his time at Liverpool coming to an end soon after. Having been loaned out to Belgian side Cercle Brugge during the second half of that season, he was released later on in 2020 and subsequently made the move to Barnsley, where he would of course be joined by Kane.

His time there didn't go as well as Kane's though, with Christie-Davies making just two appearances for the club. He made the move on loan to Slovakia with Dunajska Streda in January 2021, before returning to Belgium with a permanent switch to Eupen in June 2022 - the 27-year-old is currently without a club, having been released last summer.

Luis Longstaff

A former Newcastle youth player - although not related to current Magpies star Sean Longstaff or his brother Matty - Luis Longstaff is another whose only senior appearance for Liverpool came against Villa.

He remained on Merseyside until 2022, spending the 2021/22 season on loan at Scottish side Queen's Park - one of Andy Robertson's former clubs - and has stayed north of the border ever since. After spending a year at Cove Rangers, the 23-year-old now plies his trade with Scottish League One side Inverness.

Harvey Elliott

A player that will need no introduction to Liverpool fans, Harvey Elliott was just 16 when he played against Villa, although he was already well on the way to becoming a first-team star, having made the move from Fulham just a few months prior.

He would join Blackburn on loan for the 2020/21 season, where he was nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Season award, and from there he has become a vital member of the Reds' senior setup, as proven by his winner against Lille on Tuesday night.

Although there have been rumors of interest from the likes of Borussia Dortmund this month, Elliott has made his desire to stay at Anfield clear, and at just 21, he still has the best years of his career ahead of him.

The substitutes

Three more players were handed minutes against Villa, with one of them still at Liverpool to this day. James Norris came on as a stoppage time substitute that night, and he has featured in Arne Slot's squads this season, including traveling to Girona last month.

As for the other two changes, winger Jack Bearne is with non-league side Hednesford Town, while midfielder Leighton Clarkson is now in Scotland with Aberdeen.

There are four other players who didn't get the chance to come off the bench - goalkeeper Ben Winterbottom is now at National League side AFC Fylde, midfielder Elijah Dixon-Bonner is in the Championship with QPR, and striker Layton Stewart is currently on loan in Switzerland with FC Thun from Preston, while defender Tom Clayton is without a club after being released by Swindon last summer.