Cup run ends at Anfield

Our Carabao Cup run came to a disappointing end on Thursday evening after a heavy 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

Holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg in N17 last month, we were unable to stem the Liverpool tide in the return as they cancelled out our advantage through Cody Gakpo in the first half and then took control after the break with a Mohamed Salah penalty followed by goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil Van Dijk.

Although we struck the crossbar through Heung-Min Son with the score at 3-0 on the night, we failed to have a shot on target across the 90 minutes as we struggled to create chances. We did give debuts to new signings Kevin Danso, who started the game at the heart of our defence, and Mathys Tel, who replaced Richarlison just before half-time, but overall it was a difficult night.

As one would expect from a team trailing after the first leg of a cup semi-final, Liverpool came out of the traps fast on home soil and dominated the first half, going into the break having had over 70 per cent of the ball. We were under pressure early on and Salah saw a shot deflected in the seventh minute before Ryan Gravenberch had time to line up a shot which was blocked by Danso with 23 minutes gone. Next, Salah’s attempt to thread a pass in the area flicked off Yves Bissouma and dribbled just wide of the far post, while Darwin Nunez’s header from Gakpo’s cross was straight at Antonin Kinsky.

On the occasions we did get forward, we won a handful of corners but couldn’t make any of them count before Szoboszlai had the ball in the net on the half-hour mark from Salah’s through ball but he was a yard offside and it was disallowed. We were struggling to make the ball stick up front and as the hosts kept coming back at us, it was perhaps no surprise when they took the lead in the 34th minute. Salah clipped over a cross with the outside of his right foot which made its way to Gakpo at the back post and he swept home past Kinsky.

Our first shot at goal came on 42 minutes, Danso playing a neat ball down the right flank to Dejan Kulusevski who was allowed to advance towards goal, drifted infield but curled well wide with his final effort. Back came Liverpool and Kinsky got a vital touch on Salah’s back-post volley which bounced down and was looping in had the Czech goalkeeper not got his fingertip to it. We were then forced into a change in first-half stoppage time as Richarlison came off injured to be replaced by our new 19-year-old French forward Tel.

Liverpool’s first chance of the second period came just 30 seconds after the restart when Salah’s effort flicked off a defender into the side-netting and, from the second of two corners, Szoboszlai’s glancing header was well saved by Kinsky. However, moments later, Salah played a ball in behind for Nunez who reached it first, only to be brought down by Kinsky and referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot. Salah slammed the spot-kick high into the top left corner.

We now needed a goal to stay alive in the tie and enjoyed a spell of possession which ended with Rodrigo Bentancur blazing high over the bar before the Reds went close again when Conor Bradley drilled into the side-netting and Gakpo brought a smart save out of Kinsky from his angled left-foot drive. We were seeing more of the ball in the final third, however we just couldn’t find a way to goal and instead, conceded a third in the 75th minute. Gravenberch had just struck the post before Liverpool broke through again, Alexis Mac Allister and Bradley combining to release Szoboszlai and he slotted home with a composed finish.

A couple of minutes later, Tel’s neat pass down the flank found Son and he moved into the area before hitting a fierce drive that beat Caoimhin Kelleher but crashed off the woodwork. However, it was 4-0 shortly after when Van Dijk headed home Mac Allister’s corner. Liverpool could have added to their tally in the closing stages as we were on the ropes and the final whistle sounded to bring to a close a tough night.

Match data

Goals: Liverpool – Gakpo 34, Salah 51 (pen), Szoboszlai 75, Van Dijk 80.

Referee: Craig Pawson.

Venue: Anfield.

Weather: Clear sky, gentle breeze, two degrees.