Liverpool 5-1 West Ham United: Reds Soar Into EFL Cup Semi-Final

Liverpool hammered West Ham United 5-1 as Curtis Jones bagged a brace to book a semi-final spot.

Liverpool and the EFL Cup have enjoyed a romantic history over the years. Since the competition began in 1960/61 (formerly the Football League Cup), the Reds have lifted the trophy nine times, more than anyone else in England. They won it most recently in 2021/22, beating Chelsea 11-10 on penalties.

This campaign began in the third round, with a convincing 3-1 dismissal of Leicester City at Anfield courtesy of a Dominik Szboszlai thunder-strike. It was a Darwin Nunez wonder-goal to send the Reds through to the quarter-final after knocking out Bournemouth on the south coast.

Back at Anfield and it was West Ham United standing in the Reds way to a second EFL Cup semi-final in three years. Jurgen Klopp named a rotated starting eleven for the game, but still remained relatively strong, at least stronger than his usual EFL Cup selections.

The likes of Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szboszlai and Darwin Nunez all in the starting lineup. Curtis Jones started in midfield alongside the Hungarian and Wataru Endo.

Szoboszlai would be the one to open the goal-scoring with another rocket of a strike, planting the ball into the far corner leaving the goalkeeper with no chance of saving.

Cody Gakpo had a fantastic opportunity to double the hosts at the death of the first half, but his free header was seen whistling past the far post.

It wouldn’t take too long, however, for Liverpool to find their second goal and it would be the eventual Man of the Match, Curtis Jones, who squeezed the ball in between Alphonse Areola’s legs, reminding the ‘keeper to ‘be clever and keep ‘em together.’

Two soon became three as Ibrahima Konate’s darting run through midfield ended up in an assist for Cody Gakpo’s effort from outside the box. Liverpool were threatening to run riot against the Hammers.

Jarrod Bowen picked up his customary Anfield goal as the English forward pulled a goal back for the visitors with a spectacular curling effort. Darwin Nunez hit the post soon after, with substitute Mohamed Salah unable to convert the rebound into an empty net, a rare misjudgement.

You can let Salah get away with missing one chance, but not two. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s superb through ball from deep found Salah bearing down on goal – no mistake this time. Liverpool regained their three-goal lead.

Curtis Jones’ electric performance was capped off with a second goal as he tore apart West Ham United’s defence before picking his spot six yards out to add Liverpool’s fifth.

The Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, praised Jones’ performance: “Yes, it was a really good game. He looked super-fresh, which is probably not surprising because he didn’t now play thousands of minutes in recent weeks. In general, the performance was just good.”

A 5-1 victory and, more importantly, a spot booked in the EFL Cup semi-final. A two-legged affair against Fulham awaits the Reds, with the first leg being held at Anfield, the second at Craven Cottage.

Should the Reds see past Fulham, a final at Wembley would await against either Middlesbrough or Chelsea.

The next match for Liverpool comes on Christmas Eve Eve as they take on Arsenal at Anfield, with a spot at the top of the tree on Christmas Day up for grabs. Kick-off is at 5.30pm on Saturday, 23 December.

Liverpool team: Kelleher, Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk (Konate 60), Tsimikas (Bradley 69), Szoboszlai (Salah 60), Endo (Alexander-Arnold 60), Jones, Elliott, Gakpo (Diaz 78), Nunez.

West Ham United team: Areola, Coufal (Kehrer 72), Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Johnson, Soucek, Alvarez (Ings 81), Kudus (Ward-Prowse 72), Fornals, Benhrama (Paqueta 57), Bowen.

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Liverpool 5-1 West Ham United: Reds Soar Into EFL Cup Semi-Final

ByJim Nichol-Turner