Liverpool beat West Ham to advance to the League Cup semi-finals
Liverpool destroyed West Ham 5-1 to reach the League Cup semi-finals on Wednesday, easing the frustration of their weekend Premier League stalemate against Manchester United.
For Jurgen Klopp’s strong team, Curtis Jones scored twice while Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, and Mohamed Salah all scored.
They advance to the competition’s final four along with Middlesbrough, Fulham, and Chelsea.
Liverpool, who won the League Cup for the seventh time in the 2021–2022 season, is the team with the most victories. They easily defeated the visitors at Anfield from the outset.
Liverpool, who had 34 shots against United on Sunday but failed to reach the back of the net, attacked in waves, making it difficult for West Ham to stop them.
In the 14th minute, Harvey Elliott struck the crossbar, and Szoboszlai missed the target, but just before the half-hour mark, the midfielder from Hungary handed the home team the lead they deserved.
It happened after Said Benrahma mishandled the ball in midfield and let a rare West Ham break go awry.
The right side of the Liverpool Attack
On the right side of the Liverpool attack, Jarell Quansah found Szoboszlai, who unleashed a thunderous shot from outside the area that sailed into the far corner, leaving goalie Alphonse Areola with no chance.
The match followed the same pattern, with West Ham having to survive off the leftovers, a feeling that is all too familiar for a team that hasn’t won at Anfield since 1963.
In the closing seconds of the first half, the home team who were missing Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah had a chance to extend their lead, but Gakpo missed the target with a well-executed cross from Elliott.
In the opening forty-five minutes, Liverpool had 11 shots while West Ham had none.
In addition, the London team started James Ward-Prowse and Lucas Paqueta off the pitch, leaving several elite players on the bench.
Similar to the first half, Liverpool probed and David Moyes’ team appeared toothless as the second half played out.
Darwin Nunez, who had not scored in his previous ten appearances for Liverpool, wriggled clear in the area and attempted a shot, but Areola was up to the challenge.
But in the 56th minute, Jones handed Liverpool a lead when he fired the ball at the near post, going past Areola’s knees.
After Klopp substituted Salah, Alexander-Arnold, and Ibrahima Konate, Moyes substituted Paqueta.
Konate broke forward for Liverpool and found Gakpo, who took a touch on the edge of the box and shot in to make it 3-0.
Bowen responded with a wonderful curling finish after cutting inside Quansah, but Salah restored the three-goal lead, and Jones added his second of the game to wrap up the victory.
