After the stalemate, the slaughter. Liverpool channelled the frustration of being held by Manchester United into an emphatic destruction of West Ham to book their place in the League Cup semi-finals for a record 19th time. David Moyes’s team were abysmal, and the 6,000-strong travelling support let them know it, but the truth is West Ham were pounded into submission.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s spectacular opener was in keeping with a superb Liverpool performance in which Curtis Jones excelled with two goals, Mohamed Salah came off the bench to take his usual place on the scoresheet and Cody Gakpo also breached Alphonse Areola’s nonexistent defence.
Moyes has now visited Anfield 21 times as a manager without a victory. At no point in a punishing quarter-final was that sorry statistic unlikely to continue.
Middlesbrough v Chelsea
Liverpool v Fulham
First leg: week commencing 8 January
Second leg: week commencing 22 January
Teams drawn first play first leg at home
The West Ham manager pleaded for perspective having rotated to deal with “the quickest turnaround of any team in the Premier League” – they host Manchester United at 12.30pm on Saturday – and a demanding schedule. But he and West Ham’s fans had every right to expect more fight and commitment at Anfield.
“Only Liverpool and Manchester City have played more games than us over the last three years,” Moyes argued. “We’d won seven of our last nine. We’ve had an unbelievable run. What would West Ham’s expectations be? Would you expect us to win a European trophy? Would you expect us to be challenging for the Champions League? That’s the facts. We’re doing well for what we’re doing.”
Klopp’s only complaints were a lack of atmosphere in the Main Stand and criticism of Darwin Núñez’s recent form. Otherwise, as he noted: “Tonight was one of those that you can enjoy from start to finish.”
Liverpool were intent on making the night a horrible experience for West Ham from the kick-off. There was illness in the visiting camp, depriving Moyes of several options, but the West Ham players fit to start must have felt queasy from the constant blur of red shirts that swarmed around them.
The intensity of Liverpool’s counter-press was remarkable. Klopp’s side had started with similar energy against Manchester United but were unable to make it count because of a poor final ball or decision. Despite fielding six changes to the goalless draw on Sunday, there was more composure and patience to Liverpool’s attacking play against the Hammers and no way out for Moyes’s team.
The inevitable breakthrough arrived in style when the highly impressive Jarell Quansah took the ball off Saïd Benrahma and found Szoboszlai in space on the right. The Hungary captain swept an unstoppable long-range shot into Areola’s far corner.
Liverpool’s immense efforts merited greater backing from their fans, according to Klopp, who gestured to the crowd sat behind him to increase the volume. “It is a really tough period and I was happy we could show a performance like we did,” said the manager, whose team will play Fulham in the semi-finals.
“I was not overly happy with the atmosphere behind me. I was like: ‘What do you want?’ We changed the team a lot and we dominated West Ham. If I had been in the crowd I would have been on my toes. Was everyone down because we didn’t smash Manchester United? It was not negativity, it was just not the excitement that I felt. There were so many performances and challenges to celebrate.”
Klopp stressed the need for home fans to turn up the noise against Arsenal this weekend. “We need Anfield on Saturday. Arsenal didn’t play this week. They’ve prepared for this game … so we need Anfield on their toes from the first second. If it is too much football in December, if you are not in the right shape, give your ticket to somebody else.”
Some West Ham fans booed when the half-time whistle sounded. If they were complaining about the total absence of attacking endeavour from their team then fair enough, but Liverpool’s dominant display was the main reason West Ham were nullified.
The “killer” second goal, according to Moyes, arrived early in the second half. Jones started and finished the move, turning well in midfield and finding Núñez before darting into the area. The Uruguay forward, an influential menace all night, found the midfielder’s run perfectly. Angelo Ogbonna was the covering defender but halted his run to block off an anticipated cross from Jones. He stared aghast at Areola, and for quite some time, when Jones simply threaded a shot through the goalkeeper’s legs and into the far corner.
It took 71 minutes for Moyes’s team to have their first shot at Caoimhín Kelleher’s goal. Mohammed Kudus’s tame effort that drifted over the Liverpool keeper’s crossbar was not worth the wait.
Liverpool’s third encapsulated the lack of desire and aggression in West Ham’s second‑half performance. Ibrahima Konaté, on as a substitute, drifted upfield and barely met a challenge worthy of the name as he advanced into the visitors’ half and found Gakpo. The Netherlands international drove into the bottom corner from 20 yards out as defenders backed off.
Jarrod Bowen pulled one back when racing on to Johnson’s ball over the top and beating Kelleher with a fine finish having cut inside Quansah. But that was simply the cue for Liverpool to crank up their display to humiliation mode.
Two substitutes, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah, combined brilliantly for the fourth. Alexander-Arnold released the forward with a sublime first‑time pass out of defence and Salah sent a cool finish past Areola.
Jones applied the coup de grâce in the final moments when running beyond a procession of half‑hearted tackles and finding the far corner.
