Sports

Szoboszlai's Late Wonder Goal Sends Liverpool Past Tottenham in Carabao Cup

By Adam Bate

Liverpool secured a 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the third round of the Carabao Cup at Anfield, with a stunning stoppage-time strike from Dominik Szoboszlai putting the result beyond doubt. Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo had already given the Reds control of the match before Conor Gallagher pulled a goal back for Roberto De Zerbi's side. Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili produced a spectacular fingertip save to deny Omar Marmoush an equalizer before Szoboszlai's late effort flew past Martin Dubravka to confirm the win. The result sends Andoni Iraola's Liverpool through to the next round, while Tottenham's players will take some comfort from finally scoring against top-flight opposition this season. Lucas Bergvall had a golden opportunity to open the scoring early in the match, but his close-range effort was blocked by Mamardashvili's legs. Liverpool made Spurs pay for that missed chance when Mac Allister curled a shot high into the net to put the hosts ahead in the 21st minute. Mohammed Kudus also squandered a chance before halftime, firing high and wide after good build-up play from Destiny Udogie. Liverpool doubled their lead in the 54th minute when Gakpo fired home following a well-constructed attacking move. The Dutch forward, who was reportedly a summer transfer target for Tottenham, now has more Premier League goals this season than the entire Spurs squad combined. Gallagher gave Tottenham hope in the 69th minute, heading in from close range, but Mamardashvili's crucial save on Marmoush in the 86th minute preserved Liverpool's lead. Szoboszlai then sealed the victory in first-minute stoppage time with a spectacular long-range strike. Speaking after the match, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola praised his team's performance: "Three goals we scored were very good goals; the origin of the goals for the first and second ones was also very important for us. The third one is a worldie. With other players you are thinking it is too far. With Dom you are thinking he might score." Iraola made ten changes to his starting lineup following Saturday's match against Fulham, with young midfielders Lewis Koumas and Trey Nyoni impressing. Koumas was named player of the match, with Iraola noting: "I said in the week and say it for a reason; I see it in training every day. The energy that he shows is contagious for the rest. When they see the ones up front doing it, they are forced to go from behind." Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp praised Liverpool's performance, saying: "That's the best I've seen them... The number of times they won it back because they were so quick and aggressive to get after them. That's what Andoni did at Bournemouth and that's what he's trying to do at Liverpool." Redknapp also noted positives for Tottenham, highlighting Bergvall's performance and suggesting the visitors could have scored more goals on another day. Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi remained optimistic despite the loss, telling Sky Sports: "We created chances to win the game. It's not a very good moment, but I believe in my players... We need a click. I don't know if we are able to make this click Saturday, but playing like this and believing in ourselves and our style of play, I think we'll win many games and score many goals because the qualities of my players is very high." De Zerbi added that his team did not deserve to lose despite the result, emphasizing that Tottenham are in the early stages of building a new identity under his management. Richarlison was absent from the Tottenham squad for the match.