Liverpool just slid through the semifinal of the Carabao Cup and will be playing the finals against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. A Cup game final between both sides is something we've seen a lot. I remember we had that twice in the season when Liverpool had their eyes on winning the quadruple.
I remember the two games like it was yesterday. Chelsea and Liverpool played against each other and in each of the finals, none of the teams managed to score any goal during open play. They played 0 - 0 at full-time and Liverpool got to win the penalty shootout in each of the finals.
This time around, what do y'all think will be happening? Who will be winning this season's Carabao Cup final?
Let's talk about the game that qualified Liverpool for the final of the Carabao Cup. That's the two-leg fixture that was played between Liverpool and Fulham. The first leg was played in Anfield and Liverpool won 2 - 1. That means that they stepped into tonight's game with a goal advantage. By the end of the second leg of the game, it ended as a 1 + 1 draw between both sides.
I will quickly highlight key takeaways from the second leg of that game. They are;
FIRSTLY, Luis Dias is stepping up. The young lad has been getting a lot of sticks this season and fans are even considering cashing in on him once we have any club that shows interest in buying him. Dias has struggled this season and it almost feels like the Dias we are seeing is very different from the one we saw within the first 6 months he spent in Liverpool.
The good news though is that his performance tonight is a redemption mark for him. He gave a Man of The Match performance and he was responsible for the only goal that was scored by Liverpool in tonight's game. Now, I wonder if he will maintain a good form for what's left of this season.
SECONDLY, Alexis Mac Allister is the truth. He deserves his flowers for his performance in that defensive midfield role. His tackles were well-timed. His interceptions were superb. His ball distribution was also top-notch. He also got into a lot of 2v1 and 1v1 duels, it almost felt like he was in a wrestling ground. Yeah. His performance tonight reminds me of when Fabinho was doing the dirty work in Liverpool's midfield.
THIRDLY, What will it take to get a convincing performance out of Elliot? I know I've made cases for Elliot as a young lad in the squad, but it's hard to continue making excuses for him when new boys like Bradley and Quansah and cementing their spot and giving an average of 8.5/10 performance in each Gameweek.
Elliot, on the other hand, is still showing up with his schoolboy style of play and I just can't have that. The man needs to step up, especially now that Salah hasn't been on the squad due to his international duty.
You know, if Liverpool took their chances, we would have ended the first half of the game with 3 goals advantage. We had a lot of chances in the game, but we made things hard for ourselves by messing up those chances. The good news though is that we have conquered this stage of the competition and we are still forging ahead.
Next Liverpool's game is an FA Cup game on Sunday. Be on the lookout for that.
Thanks For Not Missing Any Full-stop or Comma.
Thumbnail Image is directly taken from Unsplash