Liverpool FC have reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. Jürgen Klopp’s side ran out 5-1 winners against West Ham, who were without a chance over the entire distance
Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp rotated his squad after the 0-0 draw against Manchester United. Kelleher started in place of Alisson, while Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Gravenberch, Salah and Luis Diaz were also given a break, with Gomez, Quansah, Jones, Elliott and Gakpo starting in their place.
David Moyes also made a number of changes to his starting XI after the 3-0 defeat to Wolverhampton. Fabianski, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson, Ward-Prowse and Lucas Paqueta were initially left out, giving Areola, Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Johnson, Pablo Fornals and Benrahma the chance to make their presence felt.
Szoboszlai reward themselves for a strong half
From the start of the game, the Reds made it clear that they were the only way to reach the semi-finals. Szoboszlai (4) and Elliott (10, 14) had good opportunities to make it 1-0 in the opening quarter of an hour. The former Leipzig man was everywhere on the pitch and was involved in almost every attacking move by the hosts. In the 21st minute, he slipped and missed the goal, but then did better on 27 minutes: he once again showed off his inimitable shooting technique with a long-range shot from around 20 meters (28′).
Jürgen Klopp’s team kept their foot on the gas pedal, with Mavropanos clearing at his own five after the Hungarian’s cross. There were no more chances after that, but nothing changed in terms of the balance of power. Gakpo almost made it 2:0 shortly before the break (45′). Both teams went into the break with 66 per cent possession and 11:0 shots on goal in favour of the Reds.
Liverpool make it clear
Nothing changed in the game. The Hammers were at least able to finish off one attack, although they failed to score (54′). At the other end, they scored for the second time instead after Jones made Areola look old with a leg kick (56′). It took until the 71st minute for West Ham to get their first shot on target. However, Gakpo made it 3-0 in the same minute.
Although the visitors managed to make it 3-1 through Bowen virtually out of nowhere (77′), there was no chance of a comeback, not least because substitute Salah made up for his miss on the empty net (81′) with his goal to make it 4-1 (82′). Liverpool remained in a scoring mood, however, with Jones scoring a brace just two minutes later (84). In the end, it stayed that way. Liverpool are now through to the semi-finals of the League Cup, where Jürgen Klopp’s side will now face Fulham FC in a first and second leg, as revealed by the draw immediately after the end of the match.
On Saturday, LFC face their next challenge in the top match against Arsenal FC, with West Ham hosting Manchester United a few hours earlier (1.30pm).
