Liverpool se qualifie pour la finale de la Coupe de la Ligue anglaise

Liverpool played to scare, but the Reds will indeed go to Wembley. Concerned in the last quarter of an hour by Fulham’s equalizer, Jürgen Klopp’s players owe their qualification to the success of the first leg (2-1). Carried by a Luis Diaz who is a goalscorer and in great form, the Reds will challenge Chelsea in the final of the English League Cup on February 25th, and will attempt to win a tenth trophy in the competition.

A sigh of relief at the final whistle, which they could easily have done without if they had been more precise in front of goal! Wednesday night at Craven Cottage, Liverpool long controlled the game against a Fulham team 13th in the Premier League and quite timid, often behind in the game of passes from Mac Allister or the strides of Gakpo, Elliott and Luis Diaz. It was actually the Colombian who struck first, following a wonderful lateral pass from the young Jarell Quansah, 20 years old, impeccable in his footwork. After eliminating Castagne with aggression, Diaz immediately beat a guilty Bernd Leno with a shot from the right post (11th, 1-0).

Relatively shy in the first leg two weeks ago, the lively winger had a fire in his legs this Wednesday. On all the good moves, the former Porto player even thought he was doubling the score on a subtle ball from Gakpo, poorly retaken by Nunez (27th), but his acrobatic goal was disallowed for offside. A relief for Bernd Leno, on the contrary very little in view in a complicated first half for the Cottagers. The German goalkeeper could even have been the unlucky hero of a comical goal, when his misguided punch bounced off Gakpo (23rd), before flying just above the crossbar.

Very dangerous on the counterattack (30th, 45th, 57th, 63rd), Liverpool could (should?) have doubled the score on numerous occasions. Instead, the Reds received a first warning on a post from Pereira (53rd), before giving in the last quarter of an hour on a goal from the thigh of the Frenchman Issa Diop (77th, 1-1).

Enough to wake up a previously apathetic Craven Cottage, for only a few minutes. The time for Jürgen Klopp to readjust his defense with the entry of Konaté, and for Liverpool to calmly secure the end of the match, professionally.

By settling for the draw, the Reds qualify for the League Cup final, which they won in 2022 after a historic penalty shootout. Their opponent on February 25th will once again be Chelsea, who brilliantly qualified the day before at the expense of Middlesbrough. A hero two years ago thanks to his winning shot, and a starter in the Reds’ cup goal this season, the Irishman Caoimhín Kelleher will undoubtedly be keen to shine again, to offer his 10th League Cup to Liverpool. An absolute record in England.