Liverpool, who didn’t win any trophies at the end of the previous season, continued their four-pronged trophy chase on Wednesday by defeating West Ham 5-1 to go to the League Cup semifinals. In the mostly one-sided match at Anfield, Curtis Jones scored twice while Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, and Mohamed Salah scored once each. For West Ham, Jarrod Bowen scored a consoling goal.
In the two-leg semifinals, Chelsea will take on Middlesbrough of the second tier, while Liverpool will play Fulham. “The performance, the scoresheet, the result and the individual performances put together to make a team on the pitch,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said. “We were brave in our positioning, our second ball game was exceptional. It was a really, really good performance from start to finish.”
Liverpool is in the round of 16 of the Europa League, will begin its FA Cup campaign next month, and may take the lead in the Premier League when it plays host to first-place Arsenal on Saturday.
The Merseyside club’s performance this season stands in sharp contrast to that of the previous one, when its inconsistent play cost it a trophy and prevented it from qualifying for the Champions League. It now appears ready to put up a strong fight for the championship and is just one round away from making it to the campaign’s first cup final.
After controlling the first half, Liverpool’s Szoboszlai gave them the lead in the 28th minute. The home team’s pressure paid off when Szoboszlai’s right-footed effort from roughly 25 yards (meters) smashed into the bottom corner and West Ham found it difficult to get out of its half.
Later in the half, Liverpool might have added another goal, but Gakpo’s header from inside the area went narrowly over the bar. Following the interval, Darwin Nunez forced Alphonse Areola to save a shot that was heading into the top corner, and in the 56th, Jones doubled the scoring.
Nunez’s deft pass split West Ham’s defense, setting Jones up to shoot from a tight angle on the left past the goalkeeper’s legs. In the 71st, Gakpo scored a low goal from the area’s border that tucked into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
After turning Jarell Quansah in the box and curling a right-footed shot past Caoimhin Kelleher, Bowen gave West Ham a six-minute lead back.
Nunez’s attempt struck the crossbar and rebounded into the path of replacement Salah, giving Liverpool the opportunity to extend their lead to three goals. With Areola on the ground, the Egypt international attempted a shot right in front of goal, but it went wide.
In the 82nd minute, he scored a goal when going one-on-one with the West Ham goalkeeper. Then, in the 84th minute, Jones scored his second goal and Liverpool’s fifth with a run into the box and a commanding finish.
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