As it happened: Liverpool destroy Spurs to end Ange’s Carabao Cup trophy hopes

Holders Liverpool booked their return ticket to Wembley and a League Cup final against Newcastle United after dashing Tottenham Hotspur’s dreams 4-0, and 4-1 on aggregate, at Anfield on Thursday.

The favourites took the lead, to level 1-1 on aggregate against the injury-depleted visitors, when Cody Gakpo fired in a right-foot shot in the 34th minute from a Mohamed Salah cross.

Virgil van Dijk celebrates.Credit: Getty Images

Salah added his name to the scoresheet, shooting high into the net from the penalty spot in the 51st minute after Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky downed Darwin Núñez, Dominik Szoboszlai slotted home the third and Virgil van Dijk completed the rout with a header.

Newcastle saw off Tottenham’s north London rivals Arsenal 2-0, and 4-0 on aggregate, on Wednesday to secure their second final in three years on March 16.

The final will be a first in English football for Liverpool’s Dutch manager Arne Slot, who replaced Jürgen Klopp at the end of last season, and 10-times League Cup winners Liverpool remained on course for a four-trophy haul this season.

Thanks again for your company this morning. It’s a good one for Liverpool fans. Not so much for Tottenham Hotspur supporters and Postecoglou followers.

They’re now alive in only two competitions: the Europa League, with their knockout phase beginning next month, and the FA Cup, in which they face Aston Villa at 4.35am on Monday morning (AEDT). Away at Villa Park. Tough ask.

Cheers for reading, and have a great day, folks.

He’s just spoken on the post-match coverage on BeIN Sports:

Ultimately, Liverpool fully deserved the victory tonight. They were a far better team. We just weren’t able to get a grip on any part of the game, defensively or with the ball … too good for us.

We allowed them to get into the game. We just weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be. I just think we didn’t start the game off on the right footing. It allowed them to get comfortable and once they got comfortable, it was very difficult then for us to wrestle that control back.

We definitely needed to be braver with and without the ball. It’s easier said than done in a place like this against a very good Liverpool team at the moment, they’re in a good spell of form … it’s what we needed to do and we didn’t do it.

We didn’t have a great first half. We weren’t very much in the game. We kind of knew that sort of first 15, 20 minutes, we had to keep it really solid in terms of our decision-making. To give them a second goal was disappointing, but I still think, as I said, we never really got to grips with any part of the game today and they were too good for us.

Ange Postecoglou and Arne Slot.Credit: AP

… not a single shot on target for Spurs.

Holders Liverpool booked their return ticket to Wembley and a League Cup final against Newcastle United after dashing Tottenham Hotspur’s dreams 4-0, and 4-1 on aggregate, at Anfield on Thursday.

The favourites took the lead, to level 1-1 on aggregate against the injury-depleted visitors, when Cody Gakpo fired in a right-foot shot in the 34th minute from a Mohamed Salah cross.

Virgil van Dijk celebrates.Credit: Getty Images

Salah added his name to the scoresheet, shooting high into the net from the penalty spot in the 51st minute after Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky downed Darwin Núñez, Dominik Szoboszlai slotted home the third and Virgil van Dijk completed the rout with a header.

Newcastle saw off Tottenham’s north London rivals Arsenal 2-0, and 4-0 on aggregate, on Wednesday to secure their second final in three years on March 16.

The final will be a first in English football for Liverpool’s Dutch manager Arne Slot, who replaced Jürgen Klopp at the end of last season, and 10-times League Cup winners Liverpool remained on course for a four-trophy haul this season.

And that’s it.

Liverpool were just way, way too good - and not for the first time in a big game, Ange Postecoglou’s men were far too passive.

They fall short of a Carabao Cup final appearance, losing 4-0 here and 4-1 on aggregate.

Back to the drawing board for Spurs, who have an FA Cup tie against Aston Villa to look forward to - plus the remainder of their Europa League campaign, which now looks like their best trophy hope. But they can’t play like that. They need to be better.

Football’s a cruel game. This isn’t cruel though. This is fitting. Liverpool are the best team in the world and this current Tottenham team, knackered and depleted as they are, do not measure up. Simple as that.

Will this cost Ange Postecoglou his job? I don’t think so. After Spurs’ activity at the end of the transfer window and his instrumental role in convincing Mathys Tel to sign for them, I would be absolutely shocked if the club is even thinking about parting ways with him before the end of the season - or at all, to be honest. This is a team in the middle of a rebuilt, with clear deficiencies - injuries aside - in midfield, most glaringly, where they’ve been monstered all game.

Three added minutes to come.

Liverpool 4-0 (4-1) Tottenham Hotspur, 90+1 minutes

There’s the exclamation mark. A Virgin van Dijk headed goal from a Mac Allister corner kick.

Easy as you like. Somehow he gets clear of three or four Spurs defenders.

If it wasn’t over before, it is now.

Liverpool 4-0 (4-1) Tottenham Hotspur, 80 minutes

There’s a feint pulse in this Spurs team. But luck’s not on their side. A terrific move by Son Heung-min almost paid dividends but his angled shot from close range smacked the underside of the bar and went away to safety.

It shows that Tottenham still have some belief. But there’s a fine line between belief and delusion.

Liverpool 3-0 (3-1) Tottenham Hotspur, 79 minutes

The Dutchman launches from distance and he nearly has Kinsky beaten! But it comes off the left post and goes out for a goal kick.

Spurs are hanging on by a thread here. They’re still alive but it’s not looking good for Ange Postecoglou’s men, who need to pull one rabbit - preferably two - out of someone’s hat.

Nope … it won’t happen. There is the sealer. Dominik Szoboszlai has just scored Liverpool’s third, and that is surely that.

Just too easy. It’s Mac Allister through the middle, to Salah, to Szokoszlai, and a simple finish. That, you’d imagine, is game over.

Liverpool 3-0 (3-1) Tottenham Hotspur, 75 minutes

Liverpool has made a double substitution, and this is a luxury they have that Spurs don’t at the moment: quality options on the bench. Alexic Mac Allister and Diego Jota have come on for Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones.

Will that change help get them over the line?

Liverpool 2-0 (2-1) Tottenham Hotspur, 73 minutes