Liverpool eased into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, with a spectacular late strike from substitute Dominik Szoboszlai putting the finishing touch on a night to forget for Roberto De Zerbi's side.
Despite fielding a heavily rotated lineup, Liverpool's attacking quality proved decisive against a Spurs side that once again struggled to convert pressure into goals. The result extends a difficult start to the season for De Zerbi, whose team have now shown a pattern of dominating possession without the end product to match.
Andoni Iraola made wholesale changes to his Liverpool XI following the weekend's goalless draw with Fulham, handing Joe Gomez his first start of the campaign alongside Ronald Araújo in central defence. De Zerbi, meanwhile, made eight alterations from Spurs' stalemate with Everton, with Andy Robertson dropping to the bench for his return to Merseyside.
The visitors started brightly, controlling the tempo and creating early chances. Lucas Bergvall was denied by a smart save from goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili after connecting with a deflected cross from Destiny Udogie, though the midfielder will feel he should have scored given the space afforded to him. Moments later, Mohammed Kudus wasted a golden opportunity from four yards out, volleying over the bar after racing onto another Udogie delivery during a rapid counterattack. Mathys Tel also failed to capitalize on a promising chance inside the box.
Liverpool gradually wrestled control of the match, with Lewis Koumas leading the line impressively and coming close to breaking the deadlock only for Martin Dubravka to deny him. The breakthrough eventually arrived when Alexis Mac Allister curled a brilliant long-range effort beyond Dubravka, continuing his fine recent form at Anfield. The move began with a long ball from Gomez to Cody Gakpo, who found Rio Ngumoha on the right before Udogie's attempted interception fell straight to the Argentine midfielder.
Liverpool doubled their advantage shortly after the interval through another slick passing sequence. James McConnell and Ngumoha combined before Milos Kerkez found Mac Allister, whose first-time pass set up Gakpo to cut inside and finish confidently past Dubravka.
Spurs pulled a goal back when Mamardashvili and Jeremie Frimpong failed to clear a corner delivered by substitute Mateus Fernandes, allowing Conor Gallagher to head home unmarked from close range. The goal offered brief hope for the travelling supporters, who continued to back their side throughout.
Mamardashvili redeemed himself soon after with an excellent save to deny Omar Marmoush, while Tottenham also had two let-offs at the other end when Tosin Adarabioyo escaped punishment for a loose pass and an apparent handball, with no VAR system in operation to review the incident.
Any lingering hopes of a Spurs comeback were extinguished in stoppage time when Szoboszlai produced a moment of quality, controlling Gakpo's flicked pass on his chest before unleashing a thunderous strike from 25 yards that flew past Dubravka to complete the scoring.
Elsewhere in the competition, Peterborough United progressed to the fourth round for the first time since 2009 after a dramatic 3-3 draw with Barnsley finished 7-6 in their favor on penalties, while Brentford saw off League One side Reading 2-1 thanks to first-half goals from Callum Wilson and Fabio Carvalho.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.