NOS Football•
Liverpool has qualified with difficulty for the eighth finals of the League Cup. The team of Arne Slot won at home at Anfield with 2-1 against Southampton, which is penultimate in the Championship, the second level in England.
Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo, still in the base against Everton on Saturday, were not in the selection and got rest.
The winning goal came in the 85th minute of Hugo Ekitike’s base. The striker celebrated the goal by pulling out his shirt and got a push from Jeremie Frimpong while cheering. The Dutchman realized that this would be an expensive cheer moment because the French striker already had yellow. Ekitike got his second yellow card and therefore red.
The evening was not so smooth for Liverpool before that.
Just before half -time, the leader of the English Premier League had taken the lead by that other very expensive purchase Alexander Isak, his first goal for The Reds. Federico Chiesa intercepted a ball and served the Swedish attacker: 1-0.
But Southampton had not been hopeless for peace and even after the break the visitors had opportunities. It yielded the slaughterer fifteen minutes before time. Wataru Endo processed a corner poorly, so that the ball was in the right to the feet of Shea Charles: 1-1.
Liverpool, which started with a completely different team than last weekend, suddenly had to take a serious action. Ten minutes later the damage had already been restored.
Chiesa had crept away from his mandekker, put a long ball with a lot of feeling dead and put face to eye with the goalkeeper Breed on substitute Ekitike, who walked in the winning.
The joy was great. So great that Ekitike took off his shirt and forgot that he would get his second yellow card. The red suspends him for the next duel in England of Liverpool, next Saturday against Crystal Palace, and Ekitike helps a passant lock to solve a luxury striker problem. Isak is now the first striker.
Blamage for Burnley
Premier League club Burnley was surprised in the League Cup. On his own peat Moor it lost, despite a goal by Dutchman Zian Flemming, with 2-1 against Cardiff City, which comes to the third level in England.
