Games of this nature mean so much to me because this is an opportunity for us to lay the foundation for a chance of winning some silverware towards the end of the Season.
EFL/Carabao Cup game doesn't have the pedigree of a Champions League game or English Premier League game. Some even make a caricature of the trophy that stands to be won in this competition. They call it the Mickey Mouse Cup. But, I'm not one of those.
I want to see Liverpool win any and every silverware that's out there.
First Half...
As you would expect, we didn't field our best legs at the beginning of this game. Their performance also wasn't the best in the first half of the game. Liverpool struggled and ended up conceding an own goal.
Quansah is quite unlucky to be the one to suffer for that own goal. He and Endo didn't look sharp at that moment and it led to the goal we conceded. I have nothing against them though.
Things started looking good for Liverpool after being a goal down. It almost felt like Liverpool needed a wake up call before they get serious. We gave a very quick reply by scoring from our first attacking attempt afterward. That goal balanced things out and leveled the playground for both teams again.
The rest of the first half was a goalless affair for both sides.
Second Half...
Liverpool started the second half on a very good note. We got our goal within the first 5 minutes of the second half and got into an advantageous position on the score sheet.
Slot made a surprising substitution to bring on Macca and Salah in the 59th minute. Some fans were bitter about that. Twitter folks were not particularly impressed by that substitution. However, the next goal was scored by Salah.
So dramatic!
Right?
He also won the free kick that led to a red card booking of an opposition's player.
It took until the final phase of the game for Gakpo to get his goal. He deserves every bit of that goal because he has been trying to score throughout this game. He's also a standout performer in this game.
Ohhh... My!
Gakpo wasn't done scoring. He squeezed in another goal in the extra time to make it 5 for Liverpool.
The game was a win for Liverpool. A satisfactory win. A lot of players were not at their best though... Tsimikas, Endo, Gomez, Quansah. They need to get back to their best.
With this game being a win, all eyes are now on our weekend EPL fixture.
Thanks For Not Missing Any Full-stop or Comma.
Thumbnail Image is taken from Unsplash
