Here are the five key talking points following Liverpool’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win against Fulham at Anfield on Wednesday evening. The Reds turned this game around.
1:THE INJURIES
You can’t discuss this without discussing how Liverpool had to face Fulham without numerous key players. Mohamed Salah is in AFCON, Trent Alexander-Arnold has a knee injury, Dominik Szoboszlai strained his hamstring, and Andy Robertson is recovering from shoulder surgery. The club is now without its four most creative players.
That’s not even taking into account the fact that Wataru Endo is in the Asian Cup, leaving the squad without a holding midfield player. Or how the absence of Kostas Tsimikas due to injury leaves the team with no natural, senior left backs.
Overall, the Reds are facing a difficult situation at the moment.
2:FIRST-HALF ENERGY
Liverpool struggled to get going in the opening 45 minutes, and they were unable to overcome Fulham. To be honest, the Cottagers didn’t have to defend very hard to keep the Reds out.
And perhaps this is a sign of the absent players. Liverpool appeared to be at a loss for who to look to for a breakthrough, which is understandable given the absence of Salah and Alexander-Arnold.
But it shows the problem over the coming weeks. Liverpool have to start faster than this – they can’t be relying on subsitutions and second-half turnarounds.
3:THE SUBSTITUTIONS
However, Liverpool may be able to use substitutes in this situation. Jurgen Klopp made his only substitutes of the game at 56 minutes, taking Harvey Elliott and Ryan Gravenberch off and bringing on Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez. It was inspired.
Liverpool got an immediate boost in energy, thanks in large part to Nunez. He technically assisted Curtis Jones’s massively deflected equalizer, although Diogo Jota gets the majority of the credit.
But the victory came down to Nunez and Gakpo. The Uruguayan sent a fantastic cross from the left, which Gakpo met first time to score.
The contrast between Liverpool before and after the replacements was dramatic. Perhaps Nunez is the answer.
4:GRAVENBERCH STRUGGLES
Ryan Gravenberch gets a start here, but it’s not good. The Dutchman struggled to exert himself during the game, notably in the midfield fight.
In total, he lost ten of his eleven duels within the first 45 minutes. This, combined with Gravenberch’s inability to produce anything moving forward, made him a bit of a liability in midfield.
It’s especially aggravating because he’s a 6-foot-3 midfielder with exceptional technical skill. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be winning the physical midfield struggle and developing it into a true strength for Liverpool.
However, this might simply be another indicator that Gravenberch is a relatively young player. The raw skill and tools are all present. Liverpool just need to find a way for him to put it all.
5:MASSIVE FAVOURITES
Liverpool are now clear favourites to win the Carabao Cup. They’ll go to Fulham with a one-goal advantage and only need to avoid a poor performance to reach the final.
Chelsea’s loss to Middleborough opens the possibility for a Championship team to reach the final, assuming they can cling on. What was meant to be a transitional season now has an awful lot of silverware in sight.
