LIVERPOOL 4-0 TOTTENHAM (4-1 on aggregate): Goals from Cody Gakpo, Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk sent the Reds into their second successive Carabao Cup final
Liverpool dominated Tottenham to overturn a 1-0 deficit on aggregate and book their place in the Carabao Cup final.
Spurs won the first leg, but could not escape the Reds’ ruthless stranglehold in the reverse fixture. Virtually the entire game was played in Tottenham’s half, with the visitors failing muster a single shot on target over the 90 minutes.
Arne Slot’s men were rewarded for their dominance 11 minutes before the break when an unmarked Cody Gakpo fired into the bottom corner from Mo Salah’s cross. Normal service quickly resumed in the second period, with Salah adding his side’s second with an emphatic penalty.
Dominik Szoboszlai capped off a neat move to put the game out of reach with 15 minutes to go, before Virgil van Dijk headed in a fourth soon after. Here, Mirror Football rounds up the biggest talking points from the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
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Liverpool to defend their title
Liverpool will be defending the Carabao Cup title in their match up against Newcastle at Wembley in March. The Reds won the competition last year to lift the final piece of silverware of Jurgen Klopp’s reign as manager.
The last trophy Klopp won may well be the first Arne Slot lifts as the legendary German’s successor. The Reds are flying under the Dutchman and Thursday’s dominant win is an ominous warning to Newcastle.
The Magpies did secure a big win over Arsenal in their semi-final tie, but the showpiece at Wembley will represent a much sterner test. Liverpool picked apart Spurs at will and never looked in danger of losing the second leg.
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Lucky Van Dijk
The game was only four minutes old when it saw its first major talking point. Richarlison was battling with Virgil van Dijk for the ball when the Tottenham star crumpled to the ground holding his face.
Referee Craig Pawson had missed the incident, which was checked by the VAR. Those replays showed that Van Dijk had caught the Brazilian with a flying elbow to the neck.
The VAR quickly cleared Van Dijk and Pawson saw fit to merely have a stern word with the duo. But the Liverpool skipper may well count himself lucky to have remained on the pitch.
Gakpo’s rise continues
It has been a remarkable season for Cody Gakpo, who has thrived under the management of compatriot Arne Slot. He has already scored 15 goals and notched seven assists in all competitions this season.
He proved to be key once again on Thursday night as Liverpool overpowered Tottenham. The Reds had dominated but had been struggling to find a way past the Spurs defence when Gakpo fired in from Mo Salah’s cross.
The Dutchman had ghosted in at the back post, affording himself the time and the space to pick out his shot. That goal relieved the pressure on the hosts, allowing them to pour forward knowing they were level.
Injuries bite Spurs again
Injuries have been the story of Tottenham’s season, with boss Ange Postecoglou struggling under the weight of them. The issue reared its ugby head again at Anfield, with Richarlison forced off on the edge of half-time with a leg injury.
That was not the main issue though, instead the biggest problem was Archie Gray’s appearance at right-back. The youngster has coped admirably playing out of position at centre-back.
He was shifted to the similarly-unnatural right-back spot against Liverpool. But he struggled up against Gakpo and Andy Robertson, with the Englishman losing the former when he scored Liverpool’s opener.
Salah the hero
Another Liverpool game, another night for Mo Salah to be the star. The Egyptian was once again the key man as the Reds overturned Tottenham’s lead from the first leg.
He first provided the assist for Cody Gakpo’s opener with a cross to the Dutchman. The second goal was also down to his hard work as he sent the pass into the Tottenham box that led to Antonin Kinksy bringing down Darwin Nunez.
Salah was the man to step up to take the resulting spot-kick and he duly smashed it into the top corner. It was the perfect penalty to cap off another dream night for the superstar.
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