"Pure Jurgen Klopp football", "A walk in the park" - Twitter explodes as Liverpool thrash West Ham to advance to EFL Cup S/F
Liverpool booked their place in the Carabao Cup semifinals with an emphatic 5-1 victory against West Ham United on Wednesday (December 20).
The Reds showed vast improvement from their disappointing performance in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on the weekend. The likes of Harvey Elliott, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Darwin Nunez were having joy against a somewhat timid West Ham defense.
However, it took 28 minutes for their opener to arrive and it came through a sensational strike from Szoboszlai. The Hungarian midfielder surged forward before unleashing a fierce low-driven strike into the bottom corner. It was an excellent finish from the 23-year-old, although the visitors were extremely poor in possession beforehand.
Liverpool were controlling proceedings heading into half-time. They enjoyed 64% of possession and put together 11 attempts while West Ham didn't even conjure up a chance.
West Ham finally gave Jurgen Klopp's side something to think about in the 53rd minute. Jarrod Bowen sent a low-driven cross towards Said Benrahma, but Konstantinos Tsimikas was on hand to play the ball to safety.
However, normal service was resumed just three minutes later and Liverpool took a 2-0 lead. Nunez found man-of-the-match Curtis Jones with a clever inside ball and the English midfielder nutmegged Hammers goalkeeper Alphonso Areola to double his side's lead.
West Ham finally had their first shot of the game in the 70th minute when Mohammed Kudus fired over the bar. But, the Merseysiders once again reacted quickly to add a third on the night just a minute later.
Ibrahima Konate was allowed to dribble at the visitors' defense before playing the ball to Gakpo. He cut inside before firing past Areola to make it 3-0 and perhaps give Klopp something to think about ahead of the Arsenal game this weekend.
Jarrod Bowen grabbed West Ham a consolation goal in the 77th minute and it was an excellent finish from the English forward. He curled a fine effort past Reds goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Nunez nearly got himself on the scoresheet in the 80th minute when he drilled a right-footed strike against the frame of the goal. Mohamed Salah somehow missed on the follow-up with the goal gaping. It was a remarkable miss from the usually potent Egyptian.
Salah made up for that miss just a minute later when he broke on the counter and finished confidently past Areola. Jones then put the icing on the cake, bagging a brace in the 84th minute. He made it 5-1 with a cool finish after driving through the Hammers' defense. It was a comfortable night for Liverpool as they booked their place in the Carabao Cup semifinals.
One fan loved what he saw from Klopp's men:
"This is pure Jurgen Klopp Football And I'm living it."
Another fan called it:
"A walk in the park."
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to Klopp's side's superb victory against West Ham:
Jurgen Klopp names Jarrod Bowen as one of his favorite non-Liverpool players
Liverpool boss Klopp was full of praise for Bowen before tonight's game against West Ham, revealing his admiration for the Hammers attacker. He said (via talkSPORT):
"Playing without (Michail) Antonio, and Bowen steps up in that position – probably my favorite player besides my players – it’s just great what he’s doing and how he develops.”
Bowen has been excelling at West Ham since joining from Hull City in 2020. The England international has started this season brightly, with 11 goals and four assists in 22 games across competitions.
The 27-year-old can play in a variety of different positions having started tonight's encounter with Liverpool in a false 9 role. He predominantly plays on the wing and was key for David Moyes' side as they won the Europa Conference League last season. He was linked with a move to Anfield in October but did sign a new seven-year contract with the west London outfit.