At The Match: Reds heading back to Wembley!
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Hi Reds, James Pearce here, just finishing up at Anfield after it finished Liverpool 4 Tottenham Hotspur 0. Arna Slot's side marching on to the Carabao Cup final with an emphatic 4-1 win on aggregate. Coming up, we'll bring you all the best post-match reaction from Anfield. We'll hear the best bits from Arna Slot's press conference and my colleague Andy Jones will drop in to give us his take on a night to cherish. Van Dijk!

Well, calm has descended here at Anfield, but only 15 minutes or so ago, this place was absolutely bouncing. Fans chanting about that return to Wembley on March the 16th, when Liverpool will defend their Carabao Cup trophy against Eddie Howe's Newcastle United side. And they secured that passage successfully.

to the capital in real, real style. This was an absolute demolition job of Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool were outstanding from start to finish. I think, you know, there was... Certainly, you fancied them to turn it round here tonight, you know, especially having, you know, a bit unfortunate to lose the first leg in the manner they did with Bergvall's controversial late goal. But, you know, to do it in the manner in which they did

was a real statement, I thought. Liverpool were so much better in every single department. And probably the biggest compliment you can pay, slot side, is that the final scoreline probably flattered Tottenham. Because just take a look at some of those standout statistics from that game. Liverpool expected goals 3.72, Tottenham's was 0.18.

26 shots against five, 10 shots on target against zero. That's the first time that Tottenham have failed to have a shot on target in a League Cup tie.

since records began. That was testament to how well Liverpool defended as well as how toothless Postakoglu's side were. I thought the midfield unit worked so, so hard, especially out of possession, to keep on winning it back and to ensure that Liverpool's control of this contest

just never loosened did it it was they were absolutely relentless and of course in the final third they packed such a punch it was it was a joy to watch and you know Gagpo just goes from strength to strength in his 16th goal of the season it means he's equaled his tally now for the whole of last season Liverpool snatch the lead on the night

Parity back in the tie.

there's been times in his Liverpool career when people have criticised Salah for his penalty taking and said that he's not particularly convincing with the way he sticks them away well I think you'll struggle to find a better penalty than that one at the Kop end here tonight because he has absolutely nailed it into the top corner and then it was a

it was a procession after that so Bozlai getting the third and then Van Dijk heading in the fourth late on and you could see how much that meant to the Liverpool skipper he hadn't actually scored at Anfield remarkably since Luton Town came here in February last year which just gives you some idea of

how long he's had to wait for that moment. And I thought it was telling that late on, Slott substituted Van Dijk. I think just to give him that opportunity of a stand innovation where even the Liverpool players...

were joining in the applause for the captain who was absolutely immense yet again and how many times have we said that this season it was a night when when slot shuffled his pack of course you know keller her coming in for allison we had bradley in it right back in place of the injured alexander arnold bradley i thought was was sensational and

you know, he's probably taken a little while, I'd say Bradley to get back to where he was before the hamstring injury. But I think he's there now. And, and of course, you know, in midfield, you had Jones in for McAllister and then Diaz making way with Nunes coming into the front line. And I thought, I thought Nunes deserves a lot of credit as well. And,

He set the tone, I thought. I think he set the tone with his work ethic and his attitude from the start in terms of chasing down lost causes. He forced so many mistakes from Tottenham

I thought there's times, of course, when Nunes can frustrate you. But I thought that was really what you need to see from him. Very, very unselfish team performance from Darwin Nunes. And that moment early on, I think, which just set Liverpool up as well, when Van Dijk tangled with Richarlison. I think that was the...

That was just Van Dijk saying, you know, no, no, no, there's going to be no messing around tonight. We are here to give you a properly hard night. And it was a miserable one for Richarlison. Didn't get any change out of Van Dijk whatsoever after he went down theatrically early on, holding his face after, I think it was a forearm to the chest from Van Dijk. And then, of course, eventually he limps off Richarlison before the break, having had absolutely no impact whatsoever.

on that game so yeah Liverpool just grew into it didn't they I think you know there was there was there was you know a few moments of frustration in that open 20-25 minutes when Spurs put bodies on the line and Gagpo and Nunes both had shots blocked and Nunes had a header that was comfortably saved but yeah there was there was never any sense of anxiety really creeping into either Liverpool's play or amongst the supporters here around me and

When the breakthrough came, of course Salah was involved. He always is, isn't he? Low cross, reaches Gagpo at the far post. And it was just the finish of a man who's oozing with confidence at the minute, the way he dispatched it inside the near post for his 16th of the season. And then, yeah, second half, I think the manner in which the penalty was won summed up what I was saying before about Nunes. So alert, so alive to the opportunities around him. Latches onto a pass from Salah.

Kinski is a second too late, clips Nunes' heels, brings him down. Salah converts the penalty and then Liverpool just, it was a case almost from that point on of how many are they going to score because the chances just kept on coming. You had Bradley marauding forward with those kind of underlapping runs

at every opportunity. He was at his dynamic best tonight, the Northern Irishman. You know, Slott kept it fresh, which helped Liverpool keep the energy levels high with McAllister and Jota coming on. That certainly helped with Nunes and Jones making way. And, you know, Gravenberg hit the post. You had

Gagpo hit the post as well before the third goal, which was an absolute beauty. You could see what it meant to slot in his staff. They raced to embrace each other after that interplay between McAllister and Bradley to tee up Zabozlai, who finished in style. And then there was still time for that corner to be nodded in by Van Dijk.

Jota threatened to add a fifth late on before there was that serenading of Van Dijk when he was applauded off by pretty much everyone inside this stadium. And, you know, tellingly late on as well, the name of Arna Slot rang around this arena. Liverpool fans showing their appreciation. You know, what a debut season that has been at Liverpool for Arna Slot. Surpassed all expectations. His first cup competition,

that he's really got to the business end of and he's led Liverpool to Wembley and now they have to go and finish the job off against Newcastle next month. Of course, before that,

They've got other competitions to focus their attention on, not least that FA Cup trip to Plymouth on Sunday afternoon. And I'm sure we'll see plenty of changes because I think Slott will be looking ahead and he'll be thinking, yes, some of those big hitters who tormented Tottenham tonight, I'd expect them to get the weekend off to make sure they're nice and fresh for that mouth-watering Merseyside derby at Goodison next Wednesday.

This is Walk On, your dedicated Liverpool podcast from The Athletic. First up in his press conference, Arne Slot was asked how it felt to have masterminded Liverpool's progress through to a Wembley final. Pleasant. Although if you know me a little bit, my thoughts are more on Sunday already than thinking about the final in a month. But our performance today was something that pleased me most. Reaching a final should always be special, even for this club.

because this club is used to playing finals, but still Dan, we are working very hard every single day to try to improve players and the players want to improve themselves every single day. But we're also in this business to play finals, although we already know how difficult the final is going to be because we faced Newcastle already and they were very impressive yesterday as well.

Many games to be played before that final and this is where our focus should be at. I think I'm not saying anything strange that Tottenham is conceding goals,

because they have so many injury problems. That's probably the main reason why they are conceding goals, but they are always able to score goals as well and create a lot. And for us to be so aggressive without the ball that it took them 80 minutes before they had their first shot on target doesn't tell you anything about Tottenham. That should tell you a lot about our work rate without the ball. And I think that's what stood out for me.

to play against a team that is so good in creating chances, not conceding hardly, only one shot is in the end.

a good accomplishment. I saw the same thing. I think that was a moment where you could see

how we played for the whole game. It was so intense, the players were ready for it, the fans were ready for it.

and we all simply wanted one thing, and that's going through to the final. That mentality we showed from the first till the last second, but it was probably well shown in that moment as well. Slot was then asked for his opinion on the League Cup. Of course, in so many other countries there is only one domestic cup competition, England still has the two, and we know that it's fourth in terms of the list of priorities for Liverpool this season,

It's clearly a competition that Slot has paid a lot of respect to over the course of his first season in charge. It has been most of the times games where players that haven't played that much played a lot of minutes and I think that has been important for us as well because every time we need one of these players they are ready to play as well. And I think if you come to this country you know

the history of the FA Cup and the League Cup. I know as well, I think I say the correct thing, that the FA Cup is a bit higher than the League Cup. But still, it's a cup and a trophy to win. And it is the one we won last season. And I think if you win a trophy,

In the season before, you always have to take the challenge on trying to win it again. I have no clue. I'm not so much into how much goals they score. I know if they work as hard as they do and they bring the ball out of the back as well as they do.

then we will always score goals because of the quality players we have. But these goals don't come from itself. If you look at the third goal, the effort Conor Bradley puts in as a full-back to sprint all over the pitch and then assist towards Dom, that is just as important as the one that scores goals.

I think it was Curtis who, I think it was Mo who crossed it in, who went for it and that's why their full-back got a little bit of doubt and the ball falls down to Cody. And if it's Cody or Lucio or Diogo or Darwin or Mo or Federico, they can all score goals. But we have to make sure they come in those positions a lot. And therefore you need to run a lot.

And that's what they're all doing. But Cody has a special season. But second half last season, he was special. During the Euros, he was special for Holland. So it doesn't come falling out of the sky. It's something he did before. And finally, slot was asked off the back of such a

dominant, impressive team performance, whether he felt that Liverpool were just growing as a team and getting better and better as this season progresses? Yeah, for me, there are two reasons why we become stronger. First of all, if you play more often together, you know better what is expected. So the first time I tell them how to bring the ball out from the back against the 7-9-11 press,

They were maybe like, "OK, this should be done." But the more times you face them, the more it just becomes natural for you. So that helps. The more games you play, the more team meetings you have, the more training sessions you have, the better they know what we expect from them and what they have to expect from each other. Second of all, I believe in the fact that the more games you play, the stronger you become, the physically stronger you become. So some people think you get tired.

But as long as you manage it well, I think players will get stronger by playing a lot of games instead of getting tired. All right, Reds, Andy here, just back from Anfield. Liverpool are once again Wembley-bound, which is always lovely to say. After a dominant second-leg victory over Tottenham, which, frankly, from the opening minutes, never really looked in doubt, to be honest, that they were going to overturn that first-leg deficit. They were so dominant and ultimately it felt like one of those...

you know, sort of performances that was a culmination of all the work that Slot has put in and successfully been able to, you know, engineer this side to produce these types of performances, you know, throughout the season. We sort of had these moments against Manchester City and Real Madrid sort of around that November time which felt like real statement performances and this was another one really where ultimately we

Tottenham didn't get a sniff. The next year, I think, speaks for itself, both for Liverpool and for the away side. It just felt like a mismatch. Ultimately, it was Liverpool who seized control of the contest, barely gave Tottenham a chance to breathe, a chance to play.

From the first whistle, the press was led by Nunes and Sabazlai, which is key for how slot wants to set a tempo. Hurried Tottenham constantly and they were unable to play out through Liverpool's press because if you beat those two, then Jones, Gravenberg, Salah, Gakpo. And then you had the full-backs, of course, pressing on as well. And both Canarte and Van Dijk being really, really aggressive. So all in all, it was just one of those team performances where

you see the blueprint that Arnishlott wanted essentially to bring in and sort of tweak a little bit and there were times for Liverpool I think in that first half an hour where a little bit careless maybe it was a little bit too easy at times because Tottenham couldn't put a string of pass together and Liverpool I think in the eagerness almost to get back on level terms at times were a little bit wasteful with it but once they got that first goal then it was pretty much plain sailing and the way they controlled that second half when it goes 2-0 you think maybe Tottenham are

you've got to find that 10-minute spell where they put Liverpool under pressure but it never came and that was more largely to do with Liverpool rather than Tottenham in that it was just a constant suffocation of Tottenham and they tried to press, they tried to hurry, they tried to work Liverpool at every say and just showed why they are such a dominant football team at the moment and

and why the work that Slott's been putting in on the training pitch with his coaching staff and the players is continuing to pay off and Liverpool continue to seemingly get better and better. That blip that they were experiencing when they went away to Tottenham and lost that first leg looks far behind them now. They're putting a string of results together, but also a string of different types of performances, getting different types of wins. And I think this was their...

As close to perfect, I think, as you could have probably got in terms of what we were hoping for tonight. And the aim now is to go and do that at Wembley in just over a month's time.

For the latest subscription offers, head to theathletic.com forward slash LiverpoolPod. So that's it for me here at Anfield. I'm off home to sort out the travel and the hotel for Wembley next month. Cannot wait for that one. And I'll be back with Tony Evans and the rest of the team on the Walk On podcast next week. Thanks for joining me and I'll catch you then. The Athletic FC Podcast Network.