Key events
HALF TIME: Liverpool 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Mac Allister blazes the free kick over the bar, and that’s the end of an open and entertaining first half. The Argentinian scored a fine goal, both keepers have made one crucial stop, and Kudus has missed a sitter. It’s been fun.
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45 min +3: … but now Bentancur is booked for nudging the in-flight Gakpo from behind, just to the right of the D. With Szoboszlai on the bench, Mac Allister looks in the mood to pull rank here. He prepares to take.
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45 min +2: Senesi barges aggressively into McConnell, having arrived late for a 50-50. The referee, having just booked Frimpong and Marmoush for bugger all, decides a lecture is enough punishment this time.
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45 min: There will be two additional minutes tacked onto the end of this first half.
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43 min: Gomez goes long. Senesi heads back to Dubravka, who claims on the edge of his box, but only just in time, with Gakpo lurking. That was a risky ball back.
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41 min: Now Marmoush goes into the book for clipping McConnell a little bit late. That was a free kick, nothing more. Marmoush as deflated as Frimpong. The referee getting a bit card-happy here.
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40 min: Frimpong wins a battle with Tel down the Tottenham left … and is booked for nothing at all. Aurajo’s yellow card was as obvious as it gets; this one not so much, and Frimpong is understandably non-plussed.
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39 min: McConnell and Koumas combine down the inside-right channel, the latter cutting back for Mac Allister, six yards out. Mac Allister can’t sort his feet, the ball clanking off his shin and wide right.
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38 min: A Liverpool corner on the left leads to a second on the right. From that one, hit long, Koumas crosses low from the left. Had Gakpo taken a better touch, he’d have been spinning and shooting from eight yards. But there’s no better touch.
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36 min: Araujo is booked for the clearest of pull-backs on Marmoush. Seconds before, McConnell had been clumsily bundled over in the box from behind by Senesi. No penalty. VAR might have taken a look at that, you know. But there’s no VAR.
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34 min: Koumas nearly gets in ahead of Tosin down the left. Tosin turns the ball behind for a corner. A smart routine between Mac Allister and Kerkez leads to the former whipping into the middle. Ngumoha can’t win a header, then when the ball breaks to Nyoni, the young midfielder’s shot is blocked. There are definitely more goals in this.
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33 min: The loudest cheer of the night so far – apart from the goal, though there’s not much in it – as Andy Robertson warms up and is serenaded by his old fans.
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32 min: Bergvall and Udogie combine neatly down the left, Liverpool’s defence all over the shop. Udogie whips a low cross into the middle. Kudus gets in ahead of Kerkez, six yards out, and has to score … but somehow blazes over the bar. What a miss!
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30 min: Marmoush curls the corner to the near stick. Koumas bashes it clear with an authoritative header. Meanwhile here’s Andy (Not That One) Flintoff: “After a summer of unwanted US innovations into football (effectively splitting the game into quarters, the ultra-long half-time show for the final), one which we could import into football that would be welcomed is NFL’s colour system, where one team plays in dark shirts and one in light for maximum contrast.”
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29 min: Marmoush wins another free kick, getting properly clattered this time, by Mac Allister out on the right touchline. He curls it into the mixer, forcing Gomez to eyebrow out for a corner on the left. He takes a whack from Tosin, foreheads clashing, but he’ll be fine to continue.
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27 min: Marmoush picks off a loose pass from Gomez, and guards it from McConnell, who can’t stop clanking into the Spurs striker’s back, 25 yards out. He goes over easily for a cheap free kick, then curls the set piece he’d won harmlessly wide left of the target.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Omar Marmoush fires his free kick wide of the Liverpool goal. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 15.50 EDT
25 min: That’ll have settled Liverpool, and suddenly Spurs are subdued. To be fair to Liverpool, they’d been growing into the game before opening the scoring.
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23 min: A fortunate deflection for Liverpool there, and they’d been second best for the most part, but what a finish by Mac Allister, who did something fairly similar when Arne Slot’s side sealed the 2024-25 Premier League title here against these opponents. Pinged towards the top right, Dubravka rooted and with no chance.
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GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Mac Allister 21)
Gakpo cuts in from the left and finds Ngumoha on the other flank. Ngumoha dribbles infield and his low pass into the box is deflected towards Mac Allister, who meets it on the edge of the box by opening his body and power-steering a sidefooter into the top right. Delicious finish!
All eyes are on the ball as a shot by Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister heads towards the Spurs goal. Photograph: Scott Heppell/ReutersLiverpool fans and Mac Allister celebrate. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 15.35 EDT
20 min: Ngumoha tries another dribble down the right but the road is blocked this time. “Am I just getting old or are these kits too similar to tell apart?” wonders Adam Kent Ibáñez. It’s certainly not very thoughtful to colour-blind supporters. A red-white contrast would work just fine; red-navy not so much.
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18 min: Kerkez bustles down the left and makes something out of nothing, bursting into a bit of space before digging out a cross that’s too high for McConnell in the middle. The crowd enjoyed that, though, and perhaps Liverpool are beginning to find a foothold in this match.
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16 min: Ngumoha drops a shoulder to make himself a pocket of space 30 yards out. He slips a pass down the inside-right channel for Koumas, who spins Senesi but can’t force his shot past Dubravka, who spreads himself to block. Both keepers have now made a fine goal-saving stop.
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14 min: Sky flash up a stat: Spurs have made 20 successful passes in the opposition’s final third to Liverpool’s three. Slightly surprised Liverpool have made that many, to be honest. They’ve been taken aback by Tottenham’s positive start.
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13 min: A rare sortie for Liverpool in Spurs territory, as Ngumoha probes down the right and crosses. The ball’s deflected into the arms of Dubravka, who has otherwise had nothing to do.
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11 min: Udogie burns down the left and fires a low cross into the Liverpool box. Bergvall is free, eight yards out. He opens his body and sidefoots powerfully towards the bottom left. Mamardashvili, diving the other way, sticks up a leg and blocks. That’s a spectacular reaction stop, and has cost Bergvall a certain goal.
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10 min: Spurs are dominating these early exchanges. They’re winning everything in the middle of the park. A third of the play so far has been in Liverpool’s final third. Kudus cuts in from the right and shoots; Gomez blocks. Then shanks a clearance out for a throw, much to the Kop’s chagrin. Liverpool looking as nervous as Spurs are assured.
Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall surges forwards at Liverpool. Photograph: Jon Super/APShare
Updated at 15.44 EDT
8 min: It’s suddenly raining reasonably heavily on Merseyside. Perfect conditions for some slick passing. So having said that, Gray throws long down the right touchline, forcing Gomez to poke behind for the first corner of the match. Frimpong and Nyoni combine to clear Kudus’s far-post delivery.
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6 min: A bit of space for Koumas down the right. He’s got no real options in the box, but wouldn’t have found them anyway, as he loops a harmless ball over to the opposite flank and away from danger.
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5 min: Gakpo drives with purpose down the inside-left channel, but is stopped in his tracks by a fine sliding block from Bergvall. Spurs have started confidently at both ends of the park.
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4 min: Kerkez was outside the box, but that’s a reminder of there being no VAR tonight. No interminable check to make sure.
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3 min: Gallagher scampers down the right and crosses. Kerkez slides along the ground, his arm well above his head, and deflects the ball to Mamardashvili … off his hand. A free kick just outside the box. Kudus crosses, but Araujo deals with it. He tries again and the keeper claims this time.
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1 min: There have been a few concerns about Mamardashvili’s distribution with his feet … and he whistles his first pass, a simple one towards Kerkez on the left, out of play. He looks suitably sheepish. No real harm done, though.
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After a quick blast of You’ll Never Walk Alone, Tottenham Hotspur get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Kop in this first half. Meanwhile Ian Copestake replies to krishnamoorthy v: “I could have crossed the road faster but I have to get my kicks somehow.”
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The teams are out at Anfield. Liverpool the red men, Spurs the lilywhites, exactly as it should be Spurs in dark navy with diagonal swirls of electric pink, bright orange, and neon purple. A fine atmosphere at Anfield; Andy Robertson seemed super-pleased to catch up with a few of his old pals. That was a sweet moment. Not long now for the rerun of the 1982 final!
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Pre-match postbag. “Great to see Joe Gomez back. However, I predict a muscle strain on 23 minutes sadly” – Jesse Davies
“It (probably) won’t happen but would anything be funnier than 0-0 after 90 minutes, then Tottenham missing their first three pens and Liverpool going through?” – Dave Estherby
“I have seen a lot many optimists in my life but none so optimistic as you who equates fun with Spurs. Watching Tottenham play these days is equivalent to watching an arthritic old man cross the road at a signal when you are already running late” – krishnamoorthy v
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Andoni Iraola speaks to Sky Sports. “We decided to change a lot of the team … we needed fresh legs … we have a lot of players willing to have a good performance … get us to the next round … also looking forward to seeing those players … I am sure they will take that chance … it’s a great chance to see (the younger players) … if we put them in, it’s because we think they are ready to help us and ready to perform … we will get a lot of information from this game … it is a matter of execution and keeping calm … I trust them … I hope they do well … we know we will face a strong team … but I trust my players.”
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This is all a bit of a back-of-envelope scribble, so if I’ve forgotten someone you’ll have to sue me*, but it’s just occurred to me that quite a lot of the players on the team-sheets tonight have already tasted League Cup glory. For Liverpool, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo, Joe Gomez, Ryan Gravenberch, Waturo Endo, Kostas Tsimikas and James McConnell played in either the 2022 or 2024 final victories over Chelsea, with Alisson, Trey Nyoni and Lewis Koumas getting medals for being on the bench in 2024, also Dominik Szoboszlai despite being injured. In addition, Alexander Isak scored for Newcastle in their win over Liverpool in 2025. As for Spurs, Andy Robertson is the only one of tonight’s squad to have played and won a final (for Liverpool) while Omar Marmoush and Savio were on the bench earlier this year for Manchester City’s victory over Arsenal, just as Martin Dubravka watched on from the dugout while Newcastle won in 2025. Sandro Tonali isn’t involved tonight, but he did play in that Newcastle victory, and can tell everyone about it when they get back.
* Please do not sue me.
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Roberto De Zerbi speaks to Sky Sports. “I am lucky I have a great squad … many very good players … changing the first XI, I hope we don’t change the quality of the players, I am sure they are the same level … I would like to see the goals … the same attitude of the first 30 minutes against Everton … we have the qualities enough to score … it’s a tough moment … no pressure, but we play to win the games … playing at Anfield against Liverpool is always tough … but my focus is on my team … after one month of working together … keep our eyes on our goal … our organisation of the play and nothing else.”
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Both teams make a slew of changes from their Premier League selections at the weekend. The only survivor from the XI that started Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Fulham is Ronald Araujo. He’ll move from right back to form a central defensive pairing with Joe Gomez, who returns from his latest injury lay-off.
Spurs retain three members of their starting XI for the goalless draw against Everton. Rodrigo Bentancur, Omar Marmoush and captain Archie Gray go again. A couple of LFC old boys are on the bench: Dominic Solanke and Andrew Robertson, the latter having made 378 appearances for the Reds. Expect emotion if Robertson gets minutes.
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The teams
Liverpool: Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Araujo, Gomez, Kerkez, Nyoni, Mac Allister, Ngumoha, McConnell, Gakpo, Koumas.
Subs: Alisson, Endo, Jacquet, Szoboszlai, Isak, Munoz, Barcola, Gravenberch, Chambers.
Tottenham Hotspur: Dubravka, Gray, Tosin, Senesi, Udogie, Bentancur, Bergvall, Kudus, Gallagher, Tel, Marmoush.
Subs: Kinsky, Robertson, van Hecke, Maddison, Savio, Fernandes, Solanke, Davies, van de Ven.
Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire)
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Updated at 14.10 EDT
Preamble
Liverpool drew a miserable blank against Fulham on Saturday and have yet to beat an English team at Anfield this season, while Spurs have the sum total of zero goals in four matches against top-flight opposition. That doesn’t augur well, does it?
But look at it another way. It’s the League Cup tonight, which means the team selections are likely to be left-field bordering on all-over-the-shop. And when these clubs meet, things usually happen: in the last four seasons alone, their get-togethers have generated scorelines such as 5-1, 4-0, 3-6, 4-2 and 4-3, a good smattering of last-minute equalisers and even later winners, four red cards, and one egregious VAR balls-up. Good process, everyone! So anything could feasibly happen. The fun – and it should be fun, shouldn’t it? – begins at 8pm BST. It’s on!
“What scarf you going for, la?” Photograph: Matt West/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 14.47 EDT
