Another 5-1 drubbing of West Ham in the League Cup saw Liverpool progress in to the next round. The visitors may well feel aggrieved that, in a game with no VAR, every marginal decision went against them. Ultimately however, it was a red card and Liverpool’s quality off the bench that was decisive.
Nine changes from Saturday’s starting 11 saw Liverpool struggle in the early stages, with only Kelleher and Nunez retained from the weekend. Sloppy and slow, they fell behind to something of a comedy of errors from a West Ham corner. The ball eventually ricocheting off Quansah from an attempted clearance by Endo. Jota though soon burst the Hammers bubble and it was the Portuguese striker who put his side ahead early in the second half.
It was a close-range header and a calm finish, slotted into the corner of the net from a lovely threaded pass from Curtis Jones, that gave Jota a brace. Prior to Liverpool’s second, West Ham were denied a penalty. The ball, having struck Quansah’s hand in an incident which had there been VAR, may well have led to the referee reversing his decision. With the visitors still feeling hard done by Mo Salah, on for Jota, put the game out of reach at 3-1 with a snap finish off a rebound.
Up to that point, West Ham were in the game. They looked dangerous on the break and Tsimikas particularly was having a difficult time at left back. Antonio had also been causing Liverpool’s makeshift back line some problems but, with Alvarez sent off on 76 minutes, up stepped Cody Gakpo to extinguish any lingering bubbles from Londoners.
Cutting in from the left, the Dutchman fired low to the keepers right and, as the game entered five minutes of injury time, he got a second, courtesy of a deflection. This time, the ball found the opposite corner, but it was a little harsh on West Ham to suffer the same score line that befell them at the quarter final stage last season. Arne Slot though was delighted, having won six of his first seven games in charge, and can look forward to a visit to the seaside to face Brighton in defence of the League Cup.
