Liverpool Thrashes Tottenham to Reach English League Cup Final Against Newcastle

Liverpool will face Newcastle in the English League Cup final after dismantling Tottenham 4-0 in the second leg of the semifinal on Thursday, overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit to seal a commanding 4-1 aggregate victory.

The emphatic performance keeps Arne Slot’s team in contention for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies in his debut season as manager.

"We are in one final, but we have a lot to play for still," said Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo, who opened the scoring in the first half at Anfield. "We have to stay calm and focus to reach as much as possible."

Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Virgil van Dijk all found the net after halftime in a dominant semifinal second leg.

Liverpool will now take on Newcastle in the final at Wembley Stadium on March 16, aiming to retain the trophy it won last year.

The win marks another milestone in what is shaping up to be a remarkable first season for Slot, who succeeded Jurgen Klopp last year. Liverpool currently leads the Premier League, has reached the Champions League round of 16, and remains in contention in the FA Cup.

Meanwhile, the heavy defeat raises further questions about Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou’s future. Spurs, currently languishing in 14th place in the league, have won just four of their last 13 games in all competitions.

For the first time under Postecoglou, Tottenham failed to register a shot on target, according to stats provider Opta.

The League Cup had represented a potential lifeline for Spurs, who have not won a major trophy since their 2008 League Cup triumph.

"We have given up a good opportunity tonight and we cannot shy away from that," Postecoglou admitted. "We were in a good position to get to the final. Nobody needs to pick me up, I just need to pick up the players."

Liverpool dominated from the outset, with Gakpo’s right-footed strike in the 34th minute leveling the tie on aggregate.

After halftime, the floodgates opened. Salah rifled a penalty into the top corner in the 51st minute after Darwin Núñez was brought down by Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky. Szoboszlai then capped off a flowing team move with a low finish in the 75th, before Van Dijk headed home from a corner five minutes later.

The League Cup was the final trophy Klopp won in his illustrious tenure at Liverpool, securing it last year with victory over Chelsea. At that time, Liverpool was also chasing a quadruple but ended up with just one piece of silverware.

Slot’s side, however, appears better positioned to win multiple titles this season, currently sitting six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

For Newcastle, the final presents another opportunity to end its 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy. The club’s last major silverware came in the now-defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969, while its most recent domestic title was the FA Cup in 1955.

Despite being backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund since 2021, Newcastle is still searching for a breakthrough. However, a 4-0 aggregate victory over Arsenal in the semifinal underlines the threat posed by Eddie Howe’s team in the final.

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