EFL Cup holders Liverpool are through to the fourth round after beating West Ham United 5-1 at Anfield on Wednesday night, the same scoreline they beat the Hammers by at the quarter-final stage of last season's competition. Although Arne Slot 's side made a dominant start to proceedings, West Ham took the lead thanks to a scrappy own goal inadvertently bundled over the line by Jarrell Quansah , but their advantage was short-lived, as Diogo Jota reacted quickest to head home an equaliser just four minutes later. Jota then scored his and Liverpool's second with a composed finish four minutes after the interval, before his replacement off the substitutes' bench Mohamed Salah fired a third into the roof of the net with 16 minutes remaining.
West Ham - who caused Liverpool problems throughout the second half, either from set-pieces or on the counter-attack - were left enraged after having two appeals for handball inside the penalty area rightly waved away by referee Andy Madley , either side of Max Kilman squandering a glorious chance to score from close range. Julen Lopetegui appeared to pull a muscle as he jumped in frustration on the touchline, and the Hammers' evening went from bad to worse when Edson Alvarez received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Salah. Liverpool then rubbed salt into West Ham's wounds with two late goals from Cody Gakpo , securing their place in the fourth round where they will face Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium next month.
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