The Reds turned the game around after struggling in the first half.
Substitutes Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez came off the bench to help Liverpool turn around their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at home to Fulham, ensuring they would take a 2-1 advantage to Craven Cottage.
The pair were added early in the second half, with the hosts behind to Willian’s 19th-minute goal following an error by Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool struggled for creativity without the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, who helped transform a 3-2 Fulham lead into a 4-3 Reds triumph in last month’s Premier League clash, but Jurgen Klopp’s substitutions changed the game, as they did against Arsenal in the FA Cup the weekend.
Nunez supplied a directness that had been absent, and Gakpo brought the calm and control to midfield. Ryan Gravenberch had not before being substituted by his Dutch teammate.
PHOTO: Gapko Goal vs Fulham
in the 71st minute, barely three minutes after Curtis Jones equalised with a deflected shot.
Real Madrid last won at Anfield in February. Before that, Leeds was in white in October 2022, and Fulham, in their first League Cup semi-final, must have been buoyed by their start.
Klopp made six changes from the weekend, with 20-year-old Conor Bradley replacing Alexander-Arnold in only his second start of the season. Van Dijk also returned.
The Netherlands captain returned from sickness, but his decision to head a ball aimlessly sideways on the outskirts of his area proved costly.
Andreas Pereira snuck in behind and cut the ball back to the penalty spot, where a couple of deft touches from Willian created space for him to blast between the legs of the recovering Dutchman, leaving goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher little chance.
