Manuel Sánchez Gómez
Liverpool made a good profit from the first leg, withstood the final push by Fulham, desperate in search of a goal that would give them extra time, and qualified for the final of the League Cup that will be played on February 25 against the Chelsea.
Jürgen Klopp’s men had a meager 2-1 lead at Anfield and, despite taking the lead after eleven minutes thanks to Luis Díaz, they ended up suffering in west London against a Fulham that tied with thirteen minutes remaining and crushed to find a goal that would send the semifinals to extra time.
The ‘Reds’, with a fairly starting eleven, started the game wanting to finish quickly and not get into trouble and Díaz, the most electric of the game, won a split ball against Timothy Castagne, broke inside and his shot, that touched a defender, it confused Bernd Leno, who could have done much more.
It was a hard blow for Fulham, who had generated an impressive atmosphere with thousands of black and white flags for 24,000 people.
And the ‘Cottagers’ were slow to get up. Every time they tried to go ahead, Liverpool gave them a scare on the counterattack.
This is how Darwin Núñez was able to sentence on a couple of occasions and also Díaz, but Liverpool forgave and Marco Silva’s men believed they had a chance.
Andreas Pereira, without an angle, without a goalkeeper and after winning the ball with a header from Tosin Adarabioyo, crashed into a post, in what was the prelude to the goal of hope.
Already in the final fifteen minutes, Harry Wilson broke young Conor Bradley on the wing and put a warm cross to the near post that Issa Diop sent into the net.
Craven Cottage erupted and Fulham had minutes to spare to equalise, but barely had a decent chance. A shot by Wilson from outside the area that Kelleher repelled without problems.
On February 25 at Wembley, Liverpool will have the opportunity to win their tenth League Cup against Chelsea, moving away from the eight that Manchester City, their closest pursuer, has.
It will be a repeat of the edition two years ago, in which the title was decided in a penalty shootout, after 22 shots and an error by Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. EFE
2024-01-25 01:22:01
#Liverpool #resists #face #Chelsea #League #Cup #final
