Liverpool 5-1 West Ham: Rampant Reds put on five-star display to book EFL Cup semi-final spot

A Dominik Szoboszlai thunderbolt and a Curtis Jones double helped Liverpool cruise into the EFL Cup semi-finals by virtue of a thumping 5-1 win over West Ham at Anfield.

The hosts bossed the first period and went close with a flurry of long-range attempts before Hungarian midfielder, Szoboszlai rifled a sizzling 25-yard shot into the far corner on 28 minutes.

The pattern continued following the interval and Jones marked a fine individual display with a clever finish from Darwin Nunez’s pass on 56 minutes.

Liverpool put the result beyond doubt 19 minutes from time when Cody Gakpo netted in a third straight League Cup match before Jarrod Bowen pulled one back for the visitors.

The hosts responded with more goals as substitute Mohamed Salah and a fine solo strike from Jones in the final moments sealed an emphatic passage into the last four.

The Merseysiders will now meet Fulham in a two-legged semi-final in the New Year.

Next up, Liverpool host Arsenal in a top-of-the-table Premier League clash on Saturday evening. West Ham entertain Manchester United.

Liverpool’s triumph means they will now compete in a record 19th League Cup semi-final and, given the names remaining in the competition, they are firm favourites to lift the trophy for a record-extending 10th time.

Of course, the two-legged semi-final showdown will also intensify their January schedule, where they could lose main man Salah for a significant period due to his involvement with Egypt at the African Cup of NationsA. But such a turnover of matches comes with being a successful team and something Klopp will again have to contend with as belief continues to increase that Liverpool 2.0 are going places.

The midfielder will surely have given himself a great chance of starting against Arsenal on Saturday after he capped an all-action showing with two well-taken goals.

LIVERPOOL: Kelleher 7, Gomez 7, Tsimikas 7, Van Dijk 7, Quansah 7, Endo 7, Jones 8*, Szoboszlai 8, Elliott 8, Nunez 7, Gakpo 7. Subs: Konate 7, Salah 7, Alexander-Arnold 7, Bradley 6, Diaz 6.

WEST HAM: Areola 6, Coufal 6, Ogbonna 6, Mavropanos 6, Johnson 6, Alvarez 6, Soucek 6, Fornals 6, Kudus 6, Benrahma 6, Bowen 7. Subs: Paqueta 6, Kehrer 6, Ward-Prowse 6, Ings n/a.

28’ – GOAL! – LIVERPOOL 1-0 WEST HAM: (Szoboszlai) That’s a scorcher! Szoboszlai is given space to line-up a 25-yard effort that he sizzles into the far corner.

56’ – GOAL! – LIVERPOOL 2-0 WEST HAM: (Jones) Curtis Jones plays a superb one-two with Nunez down the left and somehow squeezes a shot through Areola’s legs from a narrow angle.

71’ – GOAL! – LIVERPOOL 3-0 WEST HAM: (Gakpo) Konate is allowed to power forward from deep and tee up Gakpo to drill a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

78’ – GOAL! – LIVERPOOL 3-1 WEST HAM: (Bowen) The visitors pull one back as Bowen chases down a diagonal ball, cuts past Quansah and curls a wonderful strike into the far corner from the right side of the area.

82’ – GOAL! – LIVERPOOL 4-1 WEST HAM: (Salah) Just seconds after missing a sitter from close range, Salah makes amends as he races clean through on to TAA’s pass to fire a clinical finish beyond the keeper.

84’ – GOAL! – LIVERPOOL 5-1 WEST HAM: (Jones) Jones is allowed power through the middle and into the heart of the area before firing a calm finish into the far corner.