Postmortem: Liverpool Seal Carabao Cup Quarter-Final Spot with Brighton Victory | OneFootball

Brighton 2 – 3 Liverpool – The Carabao Cup Postmortem

This was a game that eventually entertained and enthralled a packed American Express Stadium, as the first of two contests (this week) between these clubs took place on the south coast. A place in the next round of the EFL Cup was at stake and with eight changes made by each up-and-coming head coach, goals were almost guaranteed.

Below is how the team lined up, with match details following.

The Starting Eleven

Vítězslav Jaroš, Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Andy Robertson, Wataru Endō, Tyler Morton, Curtis Jones, Luis Díaz, Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai

Subs:

Alexis Mac Allister – Wataru Endō (64 mins)

Trey Nyoni – Player (64 mins)

Mohamed Salah – Cody Gakpo (71 mins)

Darwin Núñez – Dominik Szoboszlai (71 mins)

Ibrahima Konaté – Jarell Quansah (90+2 mins)

Goals (Assisted by)

Brighton 0 – 1 Liverpool – Cody Gakpo (Tyler Morton) – 46 mins

Brighton 0 – 2 Liverpool – Cody Gakpo – 63 mins

Brighton 1 – 2 Liverpool – Simon Adingra – 81 mins

Brighton 1 – 3 Liverpool – Luis Díaz – 85 mins

Brighton 2 – 3 Liverpool – Tariq Lamptey – 90 mins

Photo: IMAGO

Important Match Stats

Possession – Brighton 45% – 55% Liverpool

Total Shots – Brighton 19 – 11 Liverpool

Corner Kicks – Brighton 6 – 2 Liverpool

Goalkeeper Saves – Brighton 4 – 5 Liverpool

The First Half

The opening period of this game was a cagey affair as the use of two no.10’s (by Arne Slot) allowed plenty of movement for those entities in red, Curtis Jones, and Dominik Szoboszlai. A breakaway effort was played on side by the skipper for the evening, Andy Robertson, though the young stopper between the Liverpool sticks, Vítězslav Jaroš, stood up well and thwarted the Tariq Lamptey effort.

Cody Gakpo was tasked as the wide outlet on the far left, which allowed him space to drive inside with the ball at feet. A fine curling effort stemmed from his positive movement inside, one which edged just outside of the far post. Following some good work by Andy Robertson, and the Hungarian skipper, Dominik Szoboszlai, Luis Díaz was unlucky not to head home from close range as the reds took territorial control of the first half. Andy Robertson was again clumsy in his defensive output later, though not before he nearly opened the evenings scoring with a surging run and low strike to the near post, one which was well saved by Jason Steele.

The whistle sounded to end an entertaining half, which made for a tantalizing second period to come.

The Second Half

On resumption of the second half, no changes were made by the visiting side, as Arne Slot persevered with the eleven men he had initially selected. It would take mere seconds for the first half deadlock to break, as Tyler Morton latched onto a loose ball before delivering a perfect through ball to his jet heeled wide man, Cody Gakpo. The former PSV man was deliberate in his movement and created enough space to unleash a wonderful strike into the far corner. The goal finally came and the reds were deserving of the lead.

Following some bounce back work by a resurgent Brighton, both visiting fullbacks, Andy Robertson, and Conor Bradley, struggled to maintain their respective wide men, as the Scot continued with his questionable defensive form. Luckily for the traveling support, the second goal came courtesy of the 6ft 4inch forward. After a break away had ended poorly for the counter attacking reds (moments earlier), another chance came shortly afterwards, one that allowed Gakpo to drive into the box and deliver an unstoppable low drive just inside the near post. 0-2 was the scoreline and the alterations arrived shortly thereafter.

Sadly, for a heroic third choice stopper, Vítězslav Jaroš, the indecision of Jarell Quansah allowed two goals to head past him. Fortunately, Brighton’s defence also failed to clear their respective lines and the Columbian flyer, Luis Díaz, danced his way around his marker before firing in from close range. That goal came in-between the hosts two scoring efforts; therefore, the lead of the visiting club was never lost. The goals conceded by Liverpool were a creation of a lack of concentration and the resulting withdrawal of Jarell Quansah (on 92 minutes), will point to the harsh reality of new leadership. Ultimately, a win in a knock out tournament was all that was required and with so many changes, mistakes were inevitable.

The game closed out with a whimper and the reds jumped back into the hat for the next round.

Final Thoughts

This was a game that was always going to create moments of madness, yet allow minutes to those in need. Success can be measured in many ways, however, on a Wednesday night on the south coast when eight changes have been made, any win must be taken as ideal.

Pre-match Prediction: Brighton 2 – 3 Liverpool