Liverpool Dominate West Ham To Reach League Cup Semis

Liverpool destroyed West Ham 5-1 on Wednesday to set up a League Cup semi-final against Fulham, easing the frustration of their weekend Premier League stalemate against Manchester United. Curtis Jones scored twice and Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah were also on the scoresheet for Jurgen Klopp's dominant team, who were trophyless last season. No team have won more League Cups than Liverpool, who lifted the trophy for the ninth time in the 2021/22 season.

The Reds had 34 shots against United in Sunday's Premier League match without finding the net, failing to win at home for the first time this season to their intense frustration.

Manager Jurgen Klopp said he was delighted with his team's "joyful football" as they once again clicked in front of goal against West Ham.

"We were brave in our positioning, our second ball game was exceptional," he said.

"It was a really, really good performance from start to finish.

"It is really tough for all of us, there's a lot of games and the boys played a lot of football already."

The much-changed home side, with Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench and Alisson Becker rested completely, launched wave after wave of attacks, with West Ham struggling to lay a glove on their opponents.

Harvey Elliott blasted over the bar in the 14th minute and Szoboszlai fired wide but the Hungary midfielder gave Liverpool the lead they deserved shortly before the half-hour mark.

It came after Said Benrahma lost the ball carelessly in midfield, squandering a chance for a rare West Ham break.

Dominant Liverpool

Jarell Quansah fed Szoboszlai on the right of the Liverpool attack and he let fly with powerful shot from outside the area that flew into the far corner, giving goalkeeper