Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham: Back on track

What a performance from the squad depth in last night’s Carabao Cup clash with Spurs. The youngsters were showing out, and eventually the old guard came on to finish the business at home. I am going to go through the players and give an analysis of their performance.

Player ratings

Koumas — 8

What a player. Pressing all over the front line, worked his absolute socks off and was battered by the end of the game. He was only subbed off near the end, because of the relentlessness he showed on the pitch, and was worthy of man of the match for Liverpool. He played the way a fan wants a Liverpool player to play, leaving everything out on the pitch and taking nothing back into the locker room.

Szoboszlai — 7

Subbed on just after the hour, Dominik started slow by giving away a pass in possession, but followed that up later with an absolutely sizzling strike into the back of the net that proved to be the finishing blow, taking Liverpool 3-1 up in the closing minutes. So happy to have a player like Dom — what a world-class striker of a football.

Trey Nyoni — 8

This lad has shown that he is ready for the big time. This was a big start for Trey, as he hasn’t had a start since the beginning of the season and has only been subbed on late in some Premier League games. His passing was near flawless on the day, and he wasn’t playing it safe by any means: channel passes threading the needle through two defenders to get the ball into dangerous space, winning the ball back and making clean tackles to clear up mistakes in midfield and deeper in the pitch. This upcoming league game will be very interesting to see who starts, and I believe there is a strong case for Nyoni to start and make his mark.

Mamardashvili — 8

Besides one mistake that led to a goal from a Spurs corner, Mamardashvili lived up to his shot-stopping ability and more, making world-class saves one after another on the night. The most spectacular came late in the game from a deflection on an Omar Marmoush chance, where Giorgi makes a signature punch-away save that keeps Liverpool in front. Glad to see him getting a chance to shine and perform at a high level.

McConnell — 7

Played in the 10 for most of the match. I don’t know much about this lad, but he showed good composure and got into dangerous positions on the attack. I loved the way he helped with the press and got back on defence as well.

Joe Gomez — 7

Great to see Gomez back out there on Tuesday night, in his first match since the preseason injury that has kept him out. He played well, got some good minutes, and we will be needing him in the future, so I hope he stays healthy.

Frimpong — 7

One of the best games from Frimpong. It was a testament to Trey Nyoni that he helped Frimpong be more aggressive, and he played some excellent defence as well, tracking back, doing well in one-on-ones and even winning some headers.

Araújo — 7

The man loves to defend. He is class, and I hope we exercise the loan-to-buy option for him.

Gakpo’s form

Cody Gakpo is currently playing the best of anyone at Liverpool. He has a goal and three assists in four league games, plus a goal and an assist last night, and has been in world-class form. I myself have been critical of Gakpo, most recently last season, and I can fairly say I am eating my words.

Through, but Spurs had the better chances

Liverpool are into the fourth round, but the underlying numbers were not kind. Tottenham had more of the ball, more shots and nearly a goal’s worth more expected goals: 2.34 xG to Liverpool’s 1.53.

	Liverpool	Tottenham
Goals	3	1
Expected goals (xG)	1.53	2.34
Shots	12	17
Possession	44%	56%
Touches in opposition box	22	27

Source: FotMob. Our usual xG source, Understat, doesn’t cover the Carabao Cup, so these numbers come from FotMob’s own model and aren’t directly comparable with the league figures elsewhere on this site.

Liverpool scored three from 12 shots. Tottenham, who hadn’t scored in four Premier League games coming into this, scored once from 17.

These stats tell the story of Mamardashvili being an absolute animal on the night, with two or three world-class shot-stopping saves that surely helped Liverpool over the line. It will also be said that Spurs were chasing the entire night, so it is not out of the ordinary that they would generate more shots — and Conor Gallagher’s goal was a big chance in its own right, lifting their xG for the night.

Mac Allister ran the night

Mac Allister scored the opener on 21 minutes, picking up a rebound and finding the top corner from the edge of the box. Nine minutes into the second half he set up Gakpo for the second. FotMob named him player of the match with a rating of 8.7.

After Macca’s press conference last week, where he let the world know that a contract extension was not on the table from the club’s perspective at the moment, the lad has gone out and put the criticism he faced last season to rest. If anything, he has led the charge for a new contract being inked before the end of the season.

Robertson’s return

Andrew Robertson started on the bench and came on for Destiny Udogie on 59 minutes, playing the final half hour against his old club.

What a great standing ovation Anfield gave Robo on his return on Tuesday night. Nothing but respect, admiration and good times can be remembered with Andy in a Liverpool kit. It was special to see him play at Anfield again, and I was happy with the ground’s reaction to him coming on for Tottenham in the second half.

The rotation, checked against the team sheet

Liverpool started Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Araújo, Gomez, Kerkez; Nyoni, Mac Allister; Ngumoha, McConnell, Gakpo; Koumas. Jeremy Jacquet replaced Gomez at half time, Gravenberch came on for Nyoni on 57 minutes, and Szoboszlai replaced McConnell on 62.

Of the changes called for in the preview, Ngumoha, Koumas, Frimpong, Gomez and Araújo all started. Van Dijk didn’t.

Araújo, Frimpong and Kerkez were all booked. Referee Andy Madley also booked Iraola late on for his protests.

Rotation mattered this week, as it was the third game in seven days for the Reds, and Iraola couldn’t have managed it better. A masterclass of limiting minutes for certain players while giving the ones who haven’t played the opportunity to show what they are capable of.

What’s next

Liverpool are in the fourth round, with the draw still to come. The league resumes away at Bournemouth on Sunday.

Onto Bournemouth. Let’s head into the first international break on a strong note.