Player Ratings and Match Highlights

Liverpool pummeled Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 at Anfield to advance to the EFL Cup final on Thursday evening – with an aggregate score of 4-1.

After a dominant opening half an hour, the Reds had the ball in the back of the net but had it ruled out for offside without the help of VAR. Liverpool were dominant in the opening exchanges of the game and Tottenham didn’t have enough firepower up front to cause them problems.

Just minutes after having a goal disallowed for offside, Liverpool made it 1-0. Mohamed Salah put an excellent ball into the box with the outside of his boot and his cross found Cody Gakpo who was near the back post and fired it home. The Dutchman got a very clean connection on the strike but Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky may be disappointed with himself when he looks back at it as he gets two hands to it.

Right before half-time, Kinsky made up for his suspect goalkeeping when he made an excellent save to deny an awkward shot from Salah. The Egyptian volleyed his shot into the ground and the bounce looked to be heading over Kinsky and into the back of the net but the young goalkeeper made a terrific save to keep his side in the tie. Amongst this action, Richarlison was forced off with an injury and was replaced by Mathys Tel who came on for his Spurs debut.

The first half came to a close with Liverpool 1-0 up which set up a box office second half with the tie at 1-1 on aggregate.

Just four minutes into the second period, Kinsky brought down Darwin Nunez and the hosts were awarded a penalty. Salah took the ball down impeccably and played the ball through to Nunez who tried to round the goalkeeper but was brought down for a blatant penalty. The Egyptian stepped up to take the penalty and smashed it perfectly into the top corner.

The Reds almost strengthened their lead in the 63rd minute when a left-footed shot from Gakpo was saved by Kinsky and cannoned off the post. At this point, the home side were fully in control of the game and every time they went forward they looked like scoring.

Liverpool put the nail in the coffin of the match thanks to a tidy finish from Dominik Szoboszlai. Alexis Mac Allister who had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes found Conor Bradley who was excellent throughout the match and the Northern Ireland international just laid it off for the Hungarian who finished it into the bottom corner.

If it wasn’t already game over, Liverpool made it 4-0 in the 80th minute thanks to a great-headed goal from Virgil van Dijk. The corner was swung in by Mac Allister and the Dutchman, who was unmarked headed it into the back of the net.

Van Dijk’s goal was the last action of the match and Liverpool now find themselves in the EFL Cup against Newcastle United.

Match Highlights

Liverpool Player Ratings

GK: Caoimhin Kelleher – 6.5/10

Didn’t have much to do throughout the match in possession or in terms of saves.

RB: Conor Bradley – 8.5/10

Superb defensively and very energetic up and down the right flank for the entirety of the match. His darting runs saw him get an assist for Liverpool’s third goal.

CB: Ibrahima Konate – 7.5/10

The Frenchman wasn’t really challenged throughout the match and he had a calm and controlled performance.

CB: Virgil van Dijk – 8/10

Controlled both defensively and in possession for the whole match and managed to get himself on the scoresheet with a brilliant header.

LB: Andrew Robertson – 7.5/10

Energetic down the left flank all evening and created several good chances for his side.

CM: Ryan Gravenberch – 8/10

Composed and controlled. The Dutchman didn’t put a foot wrong in midfield and was a much-needed calm head in possession.

CM: Curtis Jones – 7.5/10

Made a lot of excellent tackles in midfield when he needed to and was very tidy on the ball.

CM: Dominik Szoboszlai – 8.5/10

The Hungarian was an attacking threat all evening and was awarded for his forward runs with a nicely taken goal.

RW: Mohamed Salah – 8.5/10

Got a goal and an assist to his name which is standard practice at this point. The Egyptian also created several great chances which probably should have been finished off.

ST: Darwin Nunez – 7.5/10

Was a nuisance for the Spurs defenders to deal with throughout the match. The Uruguayan managed to win a penalty for his side also.

LW: Cody Gakpo – 8.5/10

Scored a very good goal and also hit the woodwork. Gakpo was a nightmare to defend against all evening.

SUB: Diogo Jota – N/A

Didn’t do much during his time on the pitch.

SUB: Alexis Mac Allister – 7.5/10

Made a huge impact on the game in a short period of time. The Argentine started the move for Liverpool’s third goal and assisted van Dijk for their fourth.

SUB: Harvey Elliott – N/A

Didn’t do much during his time on the pitch.

SUB: Luis Diaz – N/A

Didn’t do much during his time on the pitch.

SUB: Jarell Quansah – N/A

Didn’t do much during his time on the pitch.​​​​​​​

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Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings

GK: Antonin Kinsky – 4.5/10

The young goalkeeper gave away a penalty and was suspect for Liverpool’s opening goal. It was a night to forget for the Czech.

RB: Archie Gray – 6/10

The youngster had a tough night defensively and was moved around the pitch several times.

CB: Kevin Danso – 6/10

Had a nervy start but settled into the game okay and put in a decent performance.

CB: Ben Davies – 5.5/10

Poor in possession at times and struggled with Nunez’s presence and energy.

LB: Djed Spence – 7/10

Carried an attacking threat throughout the match with his direct running and was solid defensively.

CM: Yves Bissouma – 5/10

Bissouma gave the ball away in the lead-up to Liverpool’s goal and was brought off after 57 minutes due to his poor performance.

CM: Pape Sarr – 5.5/10

Sloppy in possession and struggled to keep up with the pace of the game. Just like one of his midfield partners Bissouma, Sarr was also taken off after 57 minutes.

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 6.5/10

Good at breaking up the play during spells of pressure but didn’t really contribute much to the match.

RW: Dejan Kulusevski – 5.5/10

Really struggled against Robertson and was somewhat ineffective going forward.

ST: Richarlison – 6/10

Forced off just before half-time with an injury. The Brazilian didn’t do much during the time he spent on the pitch.

LW: Heung-Min Son – 6/10

Hit the woodwork but aside from that didn’t have a shot on goal or much involvement in the match.

SUB: Mathys Tel – 6/10

Made a few nice runs during his time on the pitch but wasn’t found by his teammates – sometimes to his apparent frustration.

SUB: Lucas Bergvall – N/A

Didn’t do much during his time on the pitch.

SUB: Pedro Porro – N/A

Didn’t do much during his time on the pitch.​​​​​​​

SUB: Mikey Moore – N/A

Didn’t do much during his time on the pitch.

Man of the Match

Cody Gakpo

The Dutchman was Liverpool’s biggest attacking threat. He was a nightmare to defend against for the Spurs defenders all evening and also got a very well-taken goal to his name. Gakpo could’ve also had another goal to his name if it wasn’t for an excellent save from Kinsky and help from the woodwork.

As well as his direct play in terms of his running and dribbling being terrific, Gakpo was also very good at linking up with Dominik Szoboszlai and Darwin Nunez which just furthered his threat down the left flank throughout the match.