Liverpool orchestrated a second-half comeback to secure a victory over Fulham at Anfield in the initial leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash.
The away team secured the lead in the first half as Willian demonstrated excellent control inside the area to slot in. Fulham’s strong first-half performance deservedly earned them the lead.
However, Liverpool intensified their efforts in the second half, mounting a comeback with two goals in a span of three minutes.
Initially, Curtis Jones leveled the score with a 68th-minute strike from distance that took a significant deflection off Tosin Adarabioyo, causing a misdirection that beat Bernd Leno in Fulham’s goal.
Subsequently, substitute Cody Gakpo capitalized on a Darwin Nunez pull-back, driving in a goal that ignited celebration among the home crowd.
This victory marked the second time in just over a month that Liverpool thwarted Fulham’s success at Anfield. In their previous Premier League encounter on December 3, Marco Silva’s side had a 3-2 lead in the final 10 minutes but ultimately succumbed to a 4-3 defeat.
The two sides will meet again in the second leg at Craven Cottage on Wednesday, 24 January, with Jurgen Klopp’s men now in the driving seat as they look to keep alive their hopes of a record-extending 10th League Cup win.
But the Reds boss warned: “It’s not over yet.
“I didn’t expect a result where we could book the hotel. Hopefully we will be better from the start. We couldn’t do more than win the game -I’m absolutely happy.”
Subs spark Liverpool in second-half recovery
This match posed a potential challenge for Liverpool, the leaders of the Premier League, as they entered with several key players unavailable.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who delivered an outstanding performance in their FA Cup third-round victory over Arsenal, is set to be sidelined due to injury. Additionally, Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo are currently away on international duty.
Fulham had previously given Liverpool a tough time at Anfield last month, and having narrowly missed a positive outcome on that occasion, they appeared determined to cause an upset in this encounter.
Holding a 1-0 lead at half-time, Fulham seemed deserving of their advantage, capitalizing on a lackluster and somewhat disjointed performance from the hosts.
However, Klopp’s team presented a different challenge in the second half, pressing higher up the pitch. The introduction of Gakpo and Nunez midway through the period further altered the dynamics, overwhelming Fulham’s defense.
In the end, Liverpool could have won by a bigger margin with the impressive Nunez once again unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet.
“I don’t know how to explain the Darwin situation,” added Klopp. “He can’t be more unlucky in finishing situations. He does everything right and still sets up the goals.
“To bring Darwin and Cody from the bench is a proper change.”
Klopp found a significant bright spot in the form of Northern Ireland international Conor Bradley. The 20-year-old, stepping in at right-back for the absent Alexander-Arnold, delivered an impressive performance.
With this result, Liverpool has now gone 16 games undefeated at Anfield, securing 14 victories in that stretch. Once again, they demonstrated the determination and capability to maintain their commanding record on home turf.
Fulham’s ‘ruthless’ first-half pleases Silva
On the flip side, Fulham can draw encouragement from their performance in the first half, aiming to sustain their aspirations for a maiden League Cup victory.
“We knew it was going to be a tough one,” said boss Marco Silva. “You can’t play for a final thinking it’s not going to be really hard. Even three days ago they were able to play Arsenal away from home in the FA Cup.
“We did really well in the first half, more of a low block than we usually play but we controlled it well. They are a threat with the pace and quality of their attacking players and they can punish you at any time. We were ruthless in the first half, but second half they pushed up a bit more.”