Liverpool 4-0 Spurs, Carabao Cup | Ange’s verdict

Ange Postecoglou said ‘we certainly could have done things differently’ after suffering a 4-0 defeat against Liverpool in the second leg of our Carabao Cup semi-final at Anfield on Thursday night, and therefore a 4-1 defeat on aggregate.

Leading 1-0 from the first leg, Ange said pre-match that he wanted the team to go out and play our football, but he felt afterwards that ‘we didn’t play in the manner we can, with and without the ball’.

Debutant Kevin Danso started at centre-back alongside Ben Davies and we started well in our defensive shape, restricting Liverpool to one effort on target in the early stages. However, the Premier League leaders found another gear once Cody Gakpo fired them ahead on the night, level on aggregate, after 34 minutes.

It stayed that way until half-time - by which time Richarlison had departed with a calf injury, replaced by another debutant, Mathys Tel - before Liverpool pulled away via Mo Salah’s penalty (51 minutes) and further goals from Dominik Szoboszlai (75) and Virgil van Dikj (80) for the final 4-1 aggregate scoreline.

Ange on the performance and his emotions after the final whistle...

“A tough night, a disappointing night. We never really got into the game, didn’t really play in the manner we can, with and without the ball. We allowed Liverpool to get into a rhythm really early, unfortunately, that meant we couldn’t really get a grip on the game at any stage.”

On frustrating Liverpool for the first half-hour - and the first goal changing that...

“I felt even before then that we weren’t doing enough with the ball, we weren’t aggressive enough, allowing them too much territory. There were a lot of lessons in there for us. We were nowhere near the levels we needed to be. They are a good side, they are in a good moment, all their players are at the peak of their powers, so, it was always going to be a difficult challenge for us, but we certainly could have done things differently.”

On Richarlison’s injury...

“It looks like Richy’s calf, so it looks like another player to add to the list. It is what it is. We’ll dust ourselves off, it’s a big game on Sunday at Villa and we want to stay in that competition, so I’m sure the boys will be motivated after tonight to go out there and put on a strong performance.”