(Football news) To reach this round, Jurgen Klopp’s team overcame Leicester City and Bournemouth, while the Irons surprised Arsenal in the fourth round following a close victory against Lincoln City in the first round.
In Liverpool’s premier league match against Manchester United, which saw Anfield host its largest-ever attendance in the competition’s history, one desired record was broken, but Klopp’s team also earned a piece of unwanted history as the Red Devils managed to escape with a point.
Due to their own lack of a killer instinct in the final third and the tenacious Red Devils defense on Sunday night, Liverpool fired 34 shots on goal without ever beating Andre Onana. Prior to this, no Premier League game had seen so many tries to score without a goal since data became available in 2003–04.
Liverpool’s 11-game winning home run in the 2023–24 season came to an end, but the scoreline in the top left-hand corner did not support a bewildered Klopp from saying that his team’s overall performance was more dominant than their 7–0 annihilation of Man United last season.
Liverpool, who are currently second in the standings behind Arsenal going into this Saturday’s tantalizing top-of-the-table match against the Gunners, will put an immediate stop to any talk of a title fight as they look to advance toward an unprecedented tenth EFL Cup victory. They won their ninth and most recent title in 2022.
The Reds have only lost once in their last six quarterfinal matches, and that was on a historic day in the 2019–20 campaign when an XI made up entirely of academy players—Liverpool’s youngest starting lineup ever—was destroyed 5-0 by Aston Villa at this stage while Klopp’s senior team was playing in the Club World Cup.
Although West Ham’s victory in the Europa Conference League did not secure the Irons a seat in the current Club World Cup—that honor went to Manchester City, the winners of the Champions League—David Moyes’s team might be just 270 minutes away from adding yet another trophy to the collection.
Due to his Everton affiliation, Moyes was certain to face hostility upon arriving. However, in midweek, he helped West Ham advance to the round of 16 of the Europa League with a 2-0 victory over Freiburg. On Sunday, the Hammers completed their quest for redemption following their horrific 5-0 loss to Fulham when Wolverhampton Wanderers visited.
Also read: Manchester City will play Urawa in Club World Cup
