Liverpool thrashed Tottenham 4-0 at Anfield to secure a 4-1 aggregate semi-final win which booked their spot in the 2024-25 Carabao Cup Final.
Cody Gakpo opened the scoring with a 34th minute strike which pulled Arne Slot’s Reds level on aggregate, having trailed 1-0 from the first leg.
Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead with a 51st minute penalty into the top-left corner after Antonin Kinsky fouled Darwin Nunez.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s 75th minute strike plus Virgil van Dijk’s header further assured Liverpool’s comeback 4-1 aggregate win.
Newcastle now await Liverpool at Wembley Stadium, London, in the final on Sunday 16 March 2025, after Eddie Howe’s Magpies beat Arsenal 4-0 on aggregate after a 2-0 second leg win at home – in which Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon found the net to wrap up a dominant victory.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Gakpo was happy with “a great win” but iterated that momentum is now important with a busy run-in now ahead for Liverpool across four competitions.
“We are on the right track, but we have to take it game-by-game. Today it was a good job done – we are in one final, but we have a lot to play for.
“We are in a good flow at the moment, but we have to keep going. You know how football goes and it’s about consistency. We have to keep the momentum.”
With a single goal deficit on aggregate from the opening leg, Liverpool certainly made a positive start in their search to overturn their deficit but Yves Bissouma’s seventh minute shot was deflected for Mohamed Salah to fire into Kinsky’s arms.
Tottenham however stood resiliently from a defensive perspective as Liverpool continued to press but Nunez nodded over from a 29th minute chance.
Szoboszlai a minute later flicked Liverpool ahead and level on aggregate from Salah’s diagonal pass but his effort was disallowed, as Slot’s Liverpool continued to turn up the pressure.
Their efforts were soon rewarded in the 34th minute as Salah won possession and whipped in a cross, which Gakpo calmly turned into his near-left corner to restore parity on aggregate.
Liverpool subsequently proceeded to dominate Tottenham until half-time amidst more injury woes for their North London visitors, with Richarlison forced off due to a calf injury which saw Bayern Munich loanee, Mathys Tel make his Spurs debut in the Brazilian’s place.
The hosts’ pressure quickly became relentless after half time as Salah struck barely 40 seconds into the second half but Kinsky made a crucial block, whilst Kevin Danso blocked Gakpo’s shot just two minutes later.
Kinsky however was at fault for Liverpool’s second goal with a careless tackle on Nunez as he tried to meet Salah’s 49th minute pass, which allowed the Egyptian two minutes later to smash his penalty into the top-left corner to put Liverpool ahead on aggregate.
Slot’s Reds continued to keep Spurs metaphorically imprisoned in their own half as Szoboszlai nodded over just past the hour mark, before Nunez flicked wide across the face of goal just moments later.
Liverpool eventually wrapped up their place in the final for the third time in four seasons as Szoboszlai fired in from Conor Bradley’s flick-on pass, after the right-back latched onto a calmly forward 75th minute pass from substitute – Alexis Mac Allister.
Last season’s title winner, Van Dijk soon compounded Tottenham’s misery with a 80th minute header from Mac Allister’s corner-kick, which secured a chance to defend their title in the big smoke under Wembley’s arch.
What’s Next?
Liverpool turn their focus to FA Cup action on Sunday 9 February as they visit Plymouth Argyle in a 3pm GMT kick-off at Home Park.
Tottenham too will be in FA Cup action on that date as they visit Aston Villa at Villa Park with kick-off scheduled for 5:35pm.
Team News
Liverpool: Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones (Mac Allister 72′), Mohamed Salah (Elliott 82′), Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo (Diaz 82′), Darwin Nunez (Jota 72′)
Substitutes: Vitezslav Jaros, Wataru Endo, Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Federico Chiesa, Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Jarell Quansah
Tottenham: Antonin Kinsky, Djed Spence, Archie Gray, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies (Moore 82′), Yves Bissouma (Porro 57′), Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr (Bergvall 57′), Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison (Tel 45+1′), Son Heung-min
Substitutes: Brandon Austin, Pedro Porro, Sergio Reguilon, Lucas Bergvall, Damola Ajayi, Dante Cassanova, Callum Olusesi, Mikey Moore, Mathys Tel
Leave a Reply