London, Feb 7: Liverpool will play Newcastle in the English League Cup final after routing Tottenham 4-0 on Thursday.
A rampant performance overturned Spurs’ 1-0 lead from the first leg of the semifinal and sealed a 4-1 aggregate victory that keeps Arne Slot’s team in contention for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies in his first season in charge.
“We are in one final, but we have a lot to play for still,” said Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, who opened the scoring in the first half at Anfield. “We have to stay calm and focus to reach as much as possible.” Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk all struck after the break in a one-sided semifinal second leg.
Liverpool will play Newcastle in the final at Wembley Stadium on March 16 for the chance to retain the trophy it won last year.
It could be just the first title in what is shaping up to be a special debut season for Slot after succeeding Jurgen Klopp last year.
His team is top of the Premier League, into the round of 16 in the Champions League and also in the FA Cup.Such a humbling defeat for Tottenham, meanwhile, will likely lead to more speculation about the future of manager Ange Postecoglou, with his team languishing 14th in the league and having won just four of its last 13 games in all competitions.
For the first time under Postecoglou, Spurs failed to get a shot on target in a game, according to stats provider Opta.
The League Cup had felt like a lifeline for the Australian and the chance to lift Spurs’ first trophy since it won the same competition in 2008.“We have given up a good opportunity tonight and we cannot shy away from that,” Postecoglou said. “We were in a good position to get to the final.
“Nobody needs to pick me up, I just need to pick up the players.” Tottenham was overwhelmed by a Liverpool team that is sweeping aside all-comers this term.
Gakpo’s first-time finish with his right foot leveled the tie on aggregate in the 34th minute and Liverpool took complete control after the break.
Salah fired a penalty high into the top corner in the 51st after Darwin Nunez was brought down by Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky in the box and Szoboszlai ended a slick Liverpool attack with a low finish in the 75th.
Van Dijk headed in Liverpool’s fourth from a corner five minutes later.
The League Cup proved to be Klopp’s final piece of silverware in a trophy-laden reign at Liverpool with victory against Chelsea in last year’s final. Then, as now, the Merseyside club was in contention for a quadruple, but ended up with just one trophy.
Slot’s team looks better placed to win multiple titles – sitting six points clear in the league. (AP)
