A brace from Daniel Sturridge secured a 2-1 victory for Liverpool over Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup round of 16.
Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
League Cup, Anfield
October 25, 2016
Goals
Sturridge 9′ (assist – Grujic)
Sturridge 64′ (assist – Wijnaldum)
Janssen 76′ (penalty)
Liverpool welcomed Premier League rivals Spurs to Anfield on Tuesday night for a high-profile League Cup clash, with both sides eager to seal their place in the quarter-finals.
Naming an experimental starting lineup, Jurgen Klopp made 11 changes to the side that won 2-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday evening.
This included a debut for academy star Trent Alexander-Arnold, as well as a first start for Ovie Ejaria.
Klopp’s counterpart, Mauricio Pochettino, went heavy on youth, giving the Reds a great opportunity to seal victory, and an inspired Sturridge saw them through.
- Alexander-Arnold and Ejaria make full debuts for Reds
- Sturridge nets instinctive opener after Grujic deflection
- Wijnaldum sends Sturridge through for Liverpool’s second
- Janssen penalty reduces deficit on 76 minutes
- Liverpool hold on for place in League Cup quarter-finals
Klopp lined his side up in a 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Marko Grujic behind Sturridge and Divock Origi up front, and it took just nine minutes for the former pair to make their mark, with Sturridge turning in Grujic’s deflected shot from close range.
The forward tandem of Sturridge and Origi worked to great effect throughout, with the latter laying on a promising chance for the former, whose tame effort was easily saved by Michel Vorm.
Spurs grew into the game as the half wore on, however, looking to exploit Liverpool’s new-look back four, who struggled to clear their lines.
Sturridge almost turned provider for Grujic on 40 minutes, after some selfless work from Kevin Stewart to win the ball back outside the penalty area, but the Serbian dragged his shot wide, and this proved to be the last genuine chance of the first half.
The second half began as an end-to-end affair, with Kieran Trippier creating some promising openings, while Sturridge missed an open goal on the slide following great work from Origi.
Sturridge could have won a penalty after being held back by Cameron Carter-Vickers as he burst through in the box, but the No. 15 stayed on his feet, before Origi drew a great save from Vorm with a long-range strike.
Liverpool made it two shortly after, however, with a great move involving Origi and Wijnaldum saw Sturridge through one-on-one with Vorm, and the striker made no mistake for his second.
Klopp brought Danny Ings on for the final 20 minutes, and the lesser-spotted striker had a big chance within minutes, but couldn’t get the shot off early enough after being found by Sturridge on the break.
Spurs were handed a lifeline with 15 minutes to play, with Lucas Leiva fouling substitute Erik Lamela in the penalty area, and Vincent Janssen beat Simon Mignolet from the spot to make it 2-1.
This set up a tense finale, with Sturridge hitting the bar and Ings drawing a save from Vorm, but the game ended with Liverpool as marginal victors—but victors nonetheless.
TIA Man of the Match: Daniel Sturridge
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Liverpool: Mignolet; Alexander-Arnold (Clyne 68′), Lucas, Klavan, Moreno; Stewart, Grujic (Can 89′), Wijnaldum; Origi (Ings 68′), Ejaria, Sturridge
Subs not used: Karius, Lovren, Lallana, Mane
Tottenham Hotspur: Vorm; Trippier, Carter-Vickers, Wimmer, Davies; Dier (Wanyama 67′), Winks; Onomah, Carroll (Lamela 61′), Nkoudou (Harrison 83′); Janssen
Subs not used: Lopez, Vertonghen, Walkes, Amos
Next Match: Crystal Palace (A) – Premier League – October 29
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