Five things we learned from West Brom's FA Cup win over Liverpool

1 THE DREAM IS STILL ALIVE

It’s 50 years since Albion last lifted the FA Cup, and they beat Liverpool en route to the final in 1968. Thanks to the perilous league position, it hasn’t been at the forefront of most people’s minds this season, despite that anniversary.

However, the Baggies are now in the last 16 and will fancy themselves against anybody following this. Alan Pardew has pedigree in the competition too and all of a sudden, going deep is very much a possibility. That would be genuinely exciting because football is about glory, not money.

2 PARDEW GETTING THE TEAM TO CLICK

Albion scored three goals against Premier League opposition for the first time in more than 10 months, and even more impressively, they were all from open play. Alan Pardew may not have had an immediate impact on results, but he certainly is now.

Albion have won three and drawn one of their last four, and they’re playing good football. This was no backs against the wall effort, the Baggies took the game to Liverpool and outplayed their strongest team. Not only is it enjoyable to watch, but it’s now reaping rewards.

3 RODRIGUEZ BENEFITING FROM CONSISTENCY

When he joined in the summer, Jay Rodriguez looked like a shrewd signing who could be the finisher Albion were crying out for. But under Tony Pulis he was pushed out to the wing too often and in that system he was rarely in the right areas of the pitch. So when those rare chances came along, he snatched at them.

Pardew has consistently stuck him up front, and given him more opportunities in the final third and it’s paying off. Now there’s less pressure on chances, he’s tucking more of them away. It’s five goals in his last six, and eight for the season now. He looks capable of scoring the goals to keep Albion up.

4 EVANS PLAYS THROUGH THE PAIN BARRIER

Other players would have stopped, worried about their potential move to a top six club. But Jonny Evans soldiered on after hurting his hamstring once Pardew had made all three substitutes. The way he bounced back from his early error and the way he belatedly celebrated Albion’s third goal after one of the VAR delays shows how much the captain still cares.

He wasn’t the only one fighting though. The same can be said for Jake Livermore, who also carried on going after his legs had gone, while others put their bodies on the line.

5 VAR NEEDS FINE-TUNING OR SCRAPPING

Even though the new system made sure every call was correct, it still managed to ruin the spectacle. Those at home may have known what was going on but everyone inside the stadium, who had paid their money to be entertained, was completely non-plussed.

At one stage the scoreboard was showing the wrong score. Is it worth sacrificing the atmosphere and emotion that make our game so enjoyable for accuracy? Saturday night didn’t convince. VAR needs to be fine-tuned before it’s adopted.