Liverpool Soars to Carabao Cup Semis with 5-1 Victory

Liverpool convincingly secured a spot in the Carabao Cup semi-finals by thrashing West Ham United in the quarter-finals.

Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, and a double from Curtis Jones led to a well-deserved 5-1 victory for the Reds.

Jarrod Bowen managed to score a consolation goal for West Ham, their only shot on target throughout the game.

Liverpool dominated the early stages of the Anfield clash, controlling possession in and around West Ham’s territory for extended periods. Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott both narrowly missed the target in the first 15 minutes. The breakthrough came in the 27th minute when Dominik Szoboszlai seized an opportunity, capitalizing on West Ham’s defensive lapse to unleash a stunning 25-yard strike into the bottom left corner.

Approaching halftime, Liverpool nearly doubled their lead as Elliott’s exquisite cross found Gakpo, whose header narrowly missed the target. The second goal arrived early in the second half, with Curtis Jones squeezing the ball under Alphonse Areola from a tight angle, set up by Darwin Nunez.

In the 70th minute, Cody Gakpo extended Liverpool’s lead to 3-0, taking advantage of West Ham’s defensive retreat to fire a shot into the bottom corner from outside the box. Despite the dominant performance, West Ham pulled one back in the final 15 minutes, as Jarrod Bowen cut in from the right and curled a brilliant shot into the far corner.

The respite for West Ham was short-lived. Mohamed Salah, having missed an open goal minutes earlier, capitalized on a fantastic long pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold to make it 4-1. Shortly after, in the 5-1 victory, Jones navigated past West Ham’s midfield and defense to slot home.