fulham

ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP
PRELIMINARY, RETURN
Fulham–Liverpool 1–1 (0–1)
London, Craven Cottage, 24 320 viewer. Led by: Hooper
Fulham: Leno – Castagne (Tete, 83.), Tosin, I. Diop, Ant. Robinson – Palhinha, Cairney (Reed, 83.) – De-Cordova Reid (Harry Wilson, 67.), Andreas Pereira (Rodrigo Muniz, 83.), Willian – Jiménez. Manager: Marco Silva
Liverpool: Kelleher – Bradley, Quansah, Van Dijk, Joe Gomez – Mac Allister (Curtis Jones, 67.), Gravenberch (B. Clark, 83.), Elliott – Gakpo (I. Konaté, 83.), Darwin Núnez (Diogo Jota, 67.), Luis Díaz. Manager: Jürgen Klopp
Scorer: I. Diop (76.), ill. Luis Diaz (11.)
Passed on: a Liverpool3–2 on aggregate

In addition to the English League Cup, Liverpool can also win the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League trophies this season, and the closest they can get to taking home the League Cup is at any moment, as Jürgen Klopp’s team has reached the final of this series.

Which beat Fulham by one goal at home in the first leg of the semi-final, and did not lose away from home – despite their many absences.

Dominik Szoboszlai could not play on Wednesday either, maybe he can play on Sunday. Even without him, Pool achieved its goal in London, which Luis Diaz took the lead at the beginning of the match with his goal, although it was necessary for this to happen, in addition to the masterful start of the young Jarell Quansah, as well as a series of mistakes by the home defense.

It didn’t go well for Liverpool, but neither did Fulham: the hosts had one chance in the first half, Joao Palhinha missed it, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núnez were in similar shoes on the other side. Fulham managed to equalize, after a great move by ex-Liverpool player Harry Wilson, the central defender Issa Diop he scored from close range as if he had been an instinctive center forward in his life; but after that, the away defense was stable, and Jürgen Klopp also made careful substitutions, having already made the 191st change in his starting lineup for this match (this is 56 more than for any PL club this season). 1–1

Liverpool will host Norwich in the top 32 in the FA Cup on Sunday, and Chelsea in the Premier League three days later – they will also meet the latter team in the League Cup final on February 25 at Wembley.

Liverpool is playing in its 14th final in the series, this is a record, it will be Klopp’s third such final, but this is not yet a club record.

EARLIER
Chelsea–Middlesbrough (II.) 6–1 (Howson 15. – own goal, Enzo Fernández 29., Disasi 36., Palmer 42., 77., Madueke 81., or Rogers 88.)
Passed on: a Chelsea6–2 on aggregate

On Tuesday, Chelsea validated the form on paper and, after the defeat suffered in the first leg, knocked out second-tier Middlesbrough 6-1 in the second leg, thus reaching the final of the League Cup. On Wednesday, it was Liverpool’s turn to do the same.

Liverpool reached the League Cup final in second place Photo: EPA/ISABEL INFANTES

The Reds won the home clash against Fulham 2-1 and had to complete the task away. The London team has not yet triumphed in a series outside of the English second and third divisions, so the home crowd pushed the black and whites forward with great enthusiasm at the gate of the great opportunity.

One goal is not an insurmountable disadvantage, but it was barely a few minutes into the second leg when Liverpool already went up by two: Luis Díaz scored Bernd Leno’s goal in the 11th minute.

Apart from that, there were few chances in the first half, but it suited the guests perfectly. Especially because Jürgen Klopp’s team was so close to reaching the finals that they still have a lot of injuries. is not playing yet, but Andy Robertson, who has been absent since mid-October, was at least able to sit on the bench in the semi-finals of the league cup.

Liverpool were entertaining their chances

At the beginning of the second half, Fulham had a great opportunity to equalize, but Andreas Pereira hit the post instead of the empty net. After that, Liverpool tried countless shots, and the visiting team was then penalized due to the inaccuracy of the attackers. After a great pass from Exliverpool’s Harry Wilson, Issa Diop sent the ball into the center of the goal with his thigh.

Fulham equalized (1-1), but the one-goal advantage gained in the first match was enough for Liverpool to reach the final. The Reds and Chelsea will clash in the final of the League Cup on February 25. Just like in 2022, when Jürgen Klopp’s players could lift the trophy.

English League Cupsemi-final, 2nd match:
Fulham–Liverpool 1-1 (0-1)
scorer: Diop (77th), or Díaz (11.)