Liverpool vs West Ham LIVE: Carabao Cup result and reaction after Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo score in rout | OneFootball

(Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool lifted the League Cup last season at Wembley for a record tenth win; on Wednesday night their defence of the trophy began with a thumping 5-1 win over West Ham United.

The Reds will hope to go the distance in the Carabao Cup once more, but the big change from last term is Arne Slot being in the dugout after replacing Jurgen Klopp. There was no change in scoreline though; the Reds beat the Hammers 5-1 in this competition last season and did so again in the third round this time, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo both scoring twice in an emphatic victory.

Those goals, plus one from sub Mohamed Salah, all came after the Hammers took the lead through an own goal by Jarell Quansah. West Ham were outplayed and outfought, though, and Edinson Alvarez was sent-off to remove any hope of a comeback.

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Arne Slot goes on the attack to show how Liverpool can remain Carabao Cup kings

Last season, Jurgen Klopp described Diogo Jota as the best finisher at Anfield. If Arne Slot is yet to bestow such a compliment – and, more modest in his rhetoric, his praise of anyone so far has tended to be measured – he has installed the Portuguese as his first-choice No 9, a role he only had intermittently under the German. If Slot looked justified after the biggest win of his brief reign, this was a night when Klopp felt vindicated, too.

Jota’s first double since January displayed his predatory instincts, elusive movement and capacity to make scoring look simple. As Liverpool came from behind to beat West Ham United, the catalyst was the one member of Slot’s first-choice team to start. Jota may have felt the outsider in a second-string side but he served as their rescuer after Jarell Quansah, continuing his inauspicious start to life under Slot, accidentally put the Hammers ahead.

But Liverpool turned a deficit into a 3-1 win against AC Milan last week. Their powers of recovery were apparent again as Mohamed Salah, with one, and Cody Gakpo, with the second brace of the night, ensured history repeated itself. Last season, West Ham lost 5-1 at Anfield in the Carabao Cup.

Man City’s forgotten man makes his case – but even Rodri’s injury might not restore Matheus Nunes

If a midfielder has dominated the discourse surrounding Manchester City, it is not Matheus Nunes. While they await bulletins on the state of Rodri’s knee, the Portuguese’s first City goal ranks as a subplot of their week. Rodri has an ubiquity but Nunes has become the £53m forgotten man, the sort of figure who may only be glimpsed in the starting 11 on Carabao Cup nights.

As he belatedly opened his City account, however, his goal proved decisive when a second-string side were given a late fright by Watford.

His reward may be a return to the relative obscurity of the bench. Nunes has only played 20 minutes in the Premier and Champions League so far this season. Ilkay Gundogan’s return has relegated him further down the pecking order, making him more of an afterthought.

Man City’s forgotten man makes his case – but Nunes still an afterthought

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Chris Wilson26 September 2024 02:00

Pep Guardiola believes the Carabao Cup is a ‘waste of energy’ — and he’s right

The most successful manager in the League Cup’s history produced a damning admission. Manchester City will not waste their energy on the next round. Not, it should be said, out of choice. Pep Guardiola has won the League Cup four times, putting him in the company of Brian Clough, Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, due to an attitude that has reflects an insatiable desire to win, but also his determination to take it seriously.

Their four consecutive League Cup wins suggested it was a trophy worth winning, with a willingness to hoover up the lesser prizes has reduced the opportunities for anyone else to claim any silverware. Guardiola could rotate, but usually with the sense he would find a strong enough side to advance.

And now there has been a shift in approach. “The next round, I announce to you now, I play the second team,” Guardiola said. “We are not going to waste energy on this competition, for sure.”

Pep Guardiola believes the Carabao Cup is a ‘waste of energy’ — and he’s right

This is the year the Carabao Cup has entered into managed decline - not because of Manchester City or Guardiola - but because it is being marginalised by football’s wider expansion, writes Richard Jolly

Chris Wilson25 September 2024 23:00

FT: Liverpool 5-1 West Ham

Lopetegui looks understandably disappointed as he speaks to Sky.

“We don’t deserve this score because we did a lot of good things,” he said.

“We made a very good first half. They scored an offside goal. We suffered the first goal.

“After we had 10 players they scored more goals. The last 20 minutes we didn’t manage well. The players made a big effort. We were in the match until this moment despite the referee’s decision and a very clear chance we had.

“I’m sorry for our fans.”

On Edson Alvarez’s red card, he says that a “second yellow card can happen”, though he adds that it should have been a chance for his side to show some character.

“I’m very proud of the players who played until 60 minutes,” he adds.