Key events
Cody Gakpo speaks to Sky Sports: “It was a good performance from our side … the young guys put in a lot of energy … which is required at this level … all of them can be very proud of themselves … solid … we recovered the ball a few times high on the pitch, which is what we want … quality in the finishes … unfortunately we conceded … we were under pressure but we were not nervous … maybe games before we would have conceded a second one … but we were very focused.”
Lewis Koumas – who was deservedly named Player of the Match for his relentless work up front – adds: “We tried to put all the things we learn in training into the game … we did it quite well today … we did the best we could … it was very enjoyable … not many people hit a ball like Dom … it was top quality … we will try to win the cup.”
Post-match postbag: Dominik Szoboszlai special. “That was Lewis Dunk-esque!” – Andrew Goudie
“gőzvontató” – Paul Griffin
The rain comes down, most of it heavily in Tottenham Hotspur hearts. One of their two realistic chances for a trophy this year is gone before September is out. But at least they showed some sparkle in attack tonight, after a few turgid performances; Giorgi Mamardashvili may have gifted them a goal, but denied them a few others. Liverpool meanwhile are through, their dreams of a record 11th League Cup still alive. And they’re good to watch again, though still very much a work in progress, with Andoni Iraola facing some big decisions in midfield. Plenty for positives for both sides; plenty of work still to do. It was fun, though, wasn’t it?
FULL TIME: Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur
The whistle goes, and Alexis Mac Allister gets a warm hug from his old Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi. Liverpool are through to tomorrow’s fourth-round draw. Tottenham’s wait for a first League Cup since 2008 goes on.
90 min +4: Maddison again from the left. His cross-cum-shot is deflected goalwards, and Mamardashvili again reacts brilliantly to parry. The ball breaks to Tosin, who with no reaction time can only steer wide. The keeper’s had a great game, with the reasonably large caveat of his being responsible for Tottenham’s goal. He’s made a series of fine reaction stops.
90 min +3: Maddison sashays down the left and crosses, the ball somehow evading four navy shirts in the box and sailing clear of danger.
90 min +2: That was such a sweet strike. Szoboszlai’s name rings out from the Kop, and pats the Liver bird on his chest.
GOAL! Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Szoboszlai 90+1)
The answer to that question is a resounding no. Szoboszlai answers his critics (ahem) by unleashing a pearler into the top-right corner, chesting down a ball 35 yards out and sending it swerving out of Dubravka’s reach!
90 min: There will be four additional minutes. Can Spurs force a penalty shoot-out?
89 min: Anfield is nervous, and Savio bursts his way through a couple of challenges down the inside-right channel before tugging a wild shot across the face of goal and out of play. The rain is back, and it’s coming down in stair-rods.
88 min: From the corner, a game of head tennis breaks out before Spurs eventually clear. Solanke meanwhile has come on for Tel.
87 min: Isak comes on for Koumas, and is immediately in the thick of things, scarpering down the left, entering the box, and curling a shot that pings off Tosin’s elbow and out for a corner. Liverpool want a penalty, and Iraola is booked for having his say on the touchline. But it’ll be a corner for Liverpool.
86 min: … Maddison curls towards the top right, but that’s easy pickings for the keeper.
85 min: Frimpong brings down Tosin on the Spurs left touchline. Robertson delivers the free kick; Bergvall’s presence at the far stick wins a corner. From that, the ball’s worked right to left, Marmoush opening his body on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box and looking for the far corner. There’s a slight deflection, and Mamardashvili readjusts in mid-air to flick the ball out for a corner. From which …
83 min: Mac Allister and Szoboszlai one-two their way into the Spurs box from the left. Szoboszlai is clear, but the pass sticks under his feet and though he gets a shot away, it’s a weak dribble towards the bottom left, and easy for Dubravka.
82 min: Just as he did twice at Newcastle, Gravenberch dithers on the edge of the opposition area and loses the ball. Spurs counter through Marmoush, who nearly tears clear down the left, only for Jacquet to stride across and ease him off the ball. That’s wonderful last-ditch defending.
81 min: Jacquet Hansens his way out from the back before pinging an elegant long pass down the middle for Szoboszlai, who can’t quite get the better of Senesi. A better touch and he was clean through.
79 min: Robertson wins a corner down the left. Nothing comes of it, but what a story it would be if the former Liverpool left-back was involved in a big Tottenham comeback. For the first time tonight, the Anfield atmosphere is jittery.
77 min: Spurs have enjoyed 61 percent of possession in the last 15 minutes. Since Liverpool’s first-choice midfield of Gravenberch and Szoboszlai came on, effectively. After the duel-losing fiasco of Fulham last weekend, Andoni Iraola may have some big decisions to make.
76 min: Savio’s first action is to deliver the free kick into a crowded six-yard box. Mamardashvili does well this time to paw clear.
75 min: Before the free kick can be taken, Spurs replace Kudus and Gallagher with Savio and Maddison.
74 min: Kerkez slides in recklessly on Gallagher, who was about to zip past him down the Spurs right. Mistimed rather than aggressive, but a booking all day long.
72 min: Before the corner can be taken, Ngumoha is replaced by Barcola. The set piece comes to nothing.
71 min: Mamardashvili had been enjoying a good game up until that point. A couple of big saves. But that wasn’t good from the big Georgian. Liverpool respond by winning a corner down the left, thanks to some good work from Koumas.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Gallagher 69)
Marmoush curls the corner in from the left. Mamardashvili flaps under it, missing the ball altogether, and Gallagher can’t miss with a header from a couple of yards!
68 min: … so having said that, they turn up the intensity again, and Gallagher’s long-range shot is deflected over the bar, and from that corner …
67 min: Spurs aren’t doing much by way of getting back into this game at the moment. It’s all gone a little bit flat. “Pass on my thanks to Euan Lawson,” writes Adam Kent Ibáñez. “I’m 38, so hopefully my emissions are okay for a few years yet – at least until Spurs win a game.”
65 min: Koumas is nudged off the ball, 25 yards out, by Tosin. He wants a free kick in a dangerous position, but the referee deems his flop too theatrical. “To answer Craig Fawcett’s question: yes,” quips Andy (not that one) Flintoff. “More seriously, because I contribute to the cricket OBOs it made sense to state I wasn’t the former England cricketer, and it became a habit whenever I emailed in.”
63 min: Bergvall rolls a ball infield from the left for Marmoush, who prepares to shoot from the edge of the box, only to be denied by Kerkez’s perfectly timed sliding challenge. The ball poked away from the striker’s toe. That’s a goal-saving intervention by the young left-back.
62 min: … Szoboszlai and Gravenberch come on for McConnell and Nyoni. The young midfield pairing have been largely excellent tonight. Nothing comes of the corner.
61 min: Marmoush goes on a power-dribble down the inside-left channel, seeing off five challenges before rolling across to Kudus, who shoots low and hard. Mamardashvili gets down well to make another fine save. Araujo smacks the loose ball out for a corner, before which …
59 min: Kudus makes good down the right but his attempted cross is blocked by New Robertson Kerkez.
57 min: Spurs make a double change, replacing Udogie and Bentancur with Fernandes and … Andy Robertson, who gets one hell of an ovation on his return to Anfield. Robertson keeps his gameface on, and he’ll be determined to do a job for his new club, but inside he’ll be having some feelings.
56 min: Mac Allister has a chance to shoot from the edge of the D, but turns it down. It was on.
55 min: Spurs respond well, pushing Liverpool back up the pitch, Tosin unleashing a low drive that fizzes wide of the left-hand post. Mamardashvili had it covered.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Gakpo 54)
Ngumoha cuts in from the right and rolls across to Kerkez, who cushions the ball back to Mac Allister. No shot this time. Mac Allister finds Gakpo inside the box on the left. Gakpo takes a touch inside and lashes a shot across Dubravka and into the right-hand side of the net. No stopping that!
53 min: Spurs get their foot on the ball for the first time in the second half. Sterile domination. But when they finally turn it over …
51 min: Gakpo accidentally stands on Bentancur’s instep as the two battle for a loose ball. That’s a sore one, and it takes a moment for the Spurs midfielder to recover. But he’s up again soon enough.
49 min: Koumas and McConnell have done a good job of leading the Liverpool press so far this evening. Spurs don’t look comfortable passing out from the back. Andoni Iraola will be hoping Alexander Isak is on the bench taking reams of notes.
47 min: Given Gomez’s unfortunate injury record, hopefully his withdrawal is merely a matter of managing minutes. Those were his first 45 of the season. And he did take a whack on the head midway through, which won’t have helped.
Liverpool get the second half started. They’ve made one change, Jacquet coming on for Gomez. A reminder that if the game ends level after 90 minutes, there will be no extra time. It’ll be straight to penalties.
Half-time postbag. “At least you can’t accuse Roberto De Zerbi of parking the bus. No. It’s no use throwing players under a parked bus” – Justin Kavanagh
“What a week for Liverpool! Ian ‘Mac the Mouth’ McCulloch and Echo & The Bunnymen are releasing a new album, and Alexis ‘Mac the Foot’ Mac Allister is scoring goals for fun at Anfield” – Peter Oh
“Re: Andy (not that one) Flintoff, I recently saw correspondence from Andy Flintoff to the paper and thought, I bet it’s not that one. Is tonight’s Andy Flintoff not that one, or not that one or that one?” – Craig Fawcett
The doctor will see you now. “Thanks for your comment about colourblind supporters on 20 minutes,” begins Euan Lawson. “The Premier League have largely sorted appalling kit clashes out, and so I wonder if it’s a Carabao Cup thing. Yes, I can confirm, as a colourblind person, that the game is almost unwatchable. Or more unwatchable than normal with any game featuring Spurs. Red-green colourblindness affects one in 12 blokes – pretty much one in every men’s football team. It’s a nonsense that Spurs aren’t in white here.
“Also a message for Adam Kent Ibáñez – it might be worth double-checking that he’s not colourblind. A lot of men get through life without realising and it can have health consequences: spotting blood in various bodily emissions can be missed and we all know those kind of things needs checking. Awareness can help. (I’m a GP.)”
HALF TIME: Liverpool 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Mac Allister blazes the free kick over the bar, and that’s the end of an open and entertaining first half. The Argentinian scored a fine goal, both keepers have made one crucial stop, and Kudus has missed a sitter. It’s been fun.
45 min +3: … but now Bentancur is booked for nudging the in-flight Gakpo from behind, just to the right of the D. With Szoboszlai on the bench, Mac Allister looks in the mood to pull rank here. He prepares to take.
45 min +2: Senesi barges aggressively into McConnell, having arrived late for a 50-50. The referee, having just booked Frimpong and Marmoush for bugger all, decides a lecture is enough punishment this time.
45 min: There will be two additional minutes tacked onto the end of this first half.
43 min: Gomez goes long. Senesi heads back to Dubravka, who claims on the edge of his box, but only just in time, with Gakpo lurking. That was a risky ball back.
41 min: Now Marmoush goes into the book for clipping McConnell a little bit late. That was a free kick, nothing more. Marmoush as deflated as Frimpong. The referee getting a bit card-happy here.
40 min: Frimpong wins a battle with Tel down the Tottenham left … and is booked for nothing at all. Aurajo’s yellow card was as obvious as it gets; this one not so much, and Frimpong is understandably non-plussed.
39 min: McConnell and Koumas combine down the inside-right channel, the latter cutting back for Mac Allister, six yards out. Mac Allister can’t sort his feet, the ball clanking off his shin and wide right.
38 min: A Liverpool corner on the left leads to a second on the right. From that one, hit long, Koumas crosses low from the left. Had Gakpo taken a better touch, he’d have been spinning and shooting from eight yards. But there’s no better touch.
36 min: Araujo is booked for the clearest of pull-backs on Marmoush. Seconds before, McConnell had been clumsily bundled over in the box from behind by Senesi. No penalty. VAR might have taken a look at that, you know. But there’s no VAR.
34 min: Koumas nearly gets in ahead of Tosin down the left. Tosin turns the ball behind for a corner. A smart routine between Mac Allister and Kerkez leads to the former whipping into the middle. Ngumoha can’t win a header, then when the ball breaks to Nyoni, the young midfielder’s shot is blocked. There are definitely more goals in this.
