Marco Silva must he sick of Liverpool’s fightbacks after Jurgen Klopp’s comeback kings did it again.
Fulham were on course for a famous win at Anfield in their first-ever League Cup semi-final with the match entering the final quarter. But after losing on Merseyside last month when Fulham led with three minutes to go, Silva must have feared the worst.
And sure enough Liverpool scored twice in three minutes to give them the advantage heading to Craven Cottage in two weeks’ time for the second leg of their record 19th League Cup semi. Credit must go to the Kop’s hero, Darwin Nunez, and he came on with Cody Gakpo with just over half an hour remaining to turn the tie Liverpool’s way.
He has hardly been prolific these last few months, but the Liverpool fans love his work rate and he had a hand in Curtis Jones’ deflected leveller before he set up Gakpo for the winner. Liverpool were missing 10 players through injury and international call-ups, but such is their attacking might, they still found a way to win.
Defeat was tough on Fulham and they again gave a great account of themselves to keep the tie alive heading back to west London. The match began as expected as Jones and Diogo Jota went close with shots before Fulham ripped up the script by scoring against the run of play after 19 minutes from their first attack.
Jurgen Klopp's approach with Robert Lewandowski bodes well for Darwin Nunez
Virgil van Dijk, who returned from illness, uncharacteristically gave away possession on the edge of his box and Andreas Pereira fed Willian, who ghosted past Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate, before shooting past the unsighted Caoimhin Kelleher. The Cottagers almost snatched a second and Bobby De Cordova-Reid was left in acres of space and Luis Diaz did well to get back to nip the ball away.
Pereira then had a drive saved by Kelleher and Fulham had three shots on target compared to just Jones’ early effort, despite the Reds bossing possession. Joe Gomez, who made his 200th Liverpool appearance last night, is still waiting for his first career goal and he will have to wait a little longer when he fired wide.
Liverpool roused themselves - and the Kop - in the second half and Ryan Gravenberch shot just wide following a mazy run before Timothy Castagne robbed Jota as he prepared to shoot. Finally there was an urgency to Liverpool’s play and Klopp further upped the tempo when he brought on Nunez and Gakpo.
Second-half substitute Darwin Nunez assisted both of Liverpool's goals (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)Your turn! Will Liverpool reach the Carabao Cup final? Join the debate in the comments section.
As Liverpool piled forward, there were opportunities for Fulham on the break and Kelleher did well to push away a De Cordova-Reid shot. When Liverpool’s equaliser did come on 68 minutes, it was thanks to a slice of luck and Nunez fed Jones, whose drive hit Tosin Adarabioyo to take a huge deflection.
Fulham began to wilt and three minutes later, Jota played in Nunez on the left and he crossed for Gakpo to score expertly at the near post for the fourth successive time in the competition. Now Anfield was rocking and Nunez fired over from a free-kick before Leno touched over another effort as Liverpool pushed for a third.
He was again denied the goal he deserved when Leno saved his shot from point-bank range. The Liverpool fans still went home happy and they can scent another trip to Wembley and what they call Anfield South.
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