Liverpool eliminates West Ham in Carabao Cup for the second year in a row after 5-1 defeat

Liverpool defeated West Ham at Anfield in their Carabao Cup opener, coming back from behind thanks to two goals each from Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo.

Following a corner, the visitors startled the holders by taking the lead. Wataru Endo’s attempted clearance struck teammate Jarell Quansah and went over the line.

The lead for West Ham was short lived as Federico Chiesa marked his Reds debut with a helper four minutes in. Jota headed the equalizer after the winger’s spectacular volley into the ground bounced up.

Early in the second half, Portugal forward Jota scored his second goal, finishing calmly and low in front of the Kop following a great pass from Curtis Jones.

With no video assistant referee (VAR) system in place until the Carabao Cup semifinals, West Ham’s appeals for a penalty were waved away moments after the ball looked to strike Joe Gomez’s arm inside the box.

However, Max Kilman squandered a fantastic opportunity to make 2-2 from six yards on a frustrating night that saw Lopetegui booked for arguing with the referees when decisions went against his side.

Lukasz Fabianski turned away Alexis Mac Allister’s attempt shortly after, and Mohamed Salah, a replacement, made it 3-1 before Edson Alvarez was sent off for a second booking.

West Ham’s suffering was further increased by Cody Gakpo’s goals late in the match, as the Hammers were eliminated from the competition by Liverpool for the second year in a row.

It summed up a very frustrating evening for West Ham, who will try to avoid losing three straight games when they visit Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday. On the other hand, since Slot took over, Liverpool has won six of its seven league and cup matches. In the fourth round, Liverpool will play Brighton starting the week of October 28.

Image credit: @LFC via X