In just five weeks, MARCO SILVA and his Fulham side had the chance to leave Anfield with two historic victories.
Rather, they were simply the most recent squad among countless others to completely collapse in front of the Kop.
After coming off the bench to score, Cody Gakpo completely changed the course of the Carabao Cup semifinal.He scored a superb near-post goal three minutes after Curtis Jones leveled the score.
Fulham was at it again tonight, having blown a 3-2 lead at Liverpool in the Premier League one month prior by giving up two goals in the final eighty seconds.
However, they might have blown the opportunity to advance to the Carabao Cup final this time.
However, Fulham made things difficult for themselves at a time when they were playing such strong defense and appearing dangerous when they counterattacked, so in many ways, this was even more agonizing.
Despite taking the lead thanks to a Willian goal, they gave up two goals in 102 seconds, with Curtis Jones tying the score with a shot that severely deflected off Tosin Adarabioyo.
Darwin Nunez then assisted fellow substitute Cody Gakpo in scoring a second goal as the Kop sensed another resurgence.
Manager Silva appeared extremely upset prior to the two goals when, with the score at 1-0, Bobby Decordova-Reid ought to have squared to give Andreas Pereira a simple tap-in.
Rather, Decordova-Reid’s attempt was stopped, and Liverpool—who were now down to four strikers due to their substitutions—took advantage of some careless play on the part of the visitors.
Of However, not everything is lost for the West London side.
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Thankfully, they managed to avoid conceding any more goals, as Liverpool appeared to be eager to add more goals.
There’s a chance that Fulham and Middlesbrough will play in an improbable final, which would be a shock to those who mistakenly think that so-called major teams should play in every cup final.
Despite Mauricio Pochettino’s Stamford Bridge team’s inconsistent play, you have to admit that a Chelsea vs. Liverpool final appears to be the most likely result.
Jurgen Klopp will therefore have been pleased, especially in light of his extensive list of injuries.
Even with the largest of squads, a manager would suffer if they were without ten players, yet Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah were both out for Liverpool.
Although the German coach made the decision to rest goalkeeper Alisson, Liverpool were essentially left without a full squad.
Curtis Jones’ deflection goal tied the score for Liverpool.
Nevertheless, things appeared normal enough as Liverpool gave Fulham some early trouble.
After some careless defending by Tosin, Curtis Jones fired a meek shot, and Diogo Jota’s attempt glanced across the goal.
However, Fulham’s opening attack, directed towards the Kop, hushed the home crowd by scoring.
Virgil van Dijk gave a poor header on the edge of his box under pressure from Raul Jimenez. Pereira returned the ball to Willian, but he still had a ton of work to do.
However, Willian dribbled past Conor Bradley, the youthful right-back, and danced around Ibrahima Konate before squeezing a shot past Caoimhin Kelleher and into Van Dijk’s legs.
Instead of forcing Liverpool to respond, Fulham’s goal gave them some measure of control over the game, and after they took the lead, they were much more formidable.
Following Virgil van Dijk’s mistake, Willian tucked in at the near post.
You would have preferred to see Fulham’s midfielder receive some type of penalty for shamefully throwing himself to the ground and then claiming he required treatment, but instead Van Dik received a warning for placing his palm in Pereira’s face.
At the end of the first half, Joe Gomez missed a shot, and at the start of the second half, Ryan Gravenberch missed one as well.
Fulham continued to attack, though, and Silva, the manager, was obviously furious at Decordova-Reid for shooting instead of passing the ball to Pereira. This was the turning point in the game.
The only real opportunity for the visiting keeper, Bernd Leno, to make a stop was on an Alexis Mac Allister cross-shot.
However, Jones’ outside shot in their subsequent attack—which was sparked by Jota’s diligent work—took the deflection away from Tosin, who had turned his back on the shot.
And a few seconds later, Nunez, who entered the game and immediately made an impact, selected Gakpo to score the second.
Fulham will be devastated by this outcome, but it could have been worse because Liverpool wasted a few late opportunities.
And even though it seems doubtful right now, Silva’s squad still has a chance to bring home the club’s first significant title.
On the sidelines, Jurgen Klopp displayed his passion.Darwin Nunez tried to make it 3-1, but Bernd Leno stopped him.Fulham is still in the match, attempting to return it to West London.
