Liverpool are through to the quarter finals of the EFL cup after beating Tottenham 2-1 thanks to two goals from Daniel Sturridge.
Sturridge opened the scoring for the home side, latching onto a loose ball and firing past Michel Vorm after some poor Spurs defending.
He doubled his tally in the second half. Kevin Wimmer made a poor decision trying to play the England international offside and instead allowed him with a clean-run in on goal. Sturridge made no mistake, firing past Vorm.
Tottenham did get a late consolation goal through Vincent Janssen from the penalty spot, but it wasn’t enough to save their cup campaign.
Liverpool player ratings vs Tottenham:
GK: Simon Mignolet 7/10
Mignolet has lost his starting role to Lorius Karius in recent weeks, but he was handed a start tonight in the EFL cup. He wasn’t majorly tested and was unable to keep-out Vincent Janssen’s penalty.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold 7/10
Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of Liverpool’s brightest defensive prospects. Handed a start tonight by manager Jurgen Klopp, he made the most of the opportunity. He is only 18-years-old, but came of age this evening and Klopp will be delighted.
CB: Ragnar Klavan 7/10
Since Klavan joined Liverpool in the summer he has been somewhat of a bit-part player. He showed tonight that Klopp has quality in reserve with a very assured defensive performance.
CB: Lucas Leiva 6/10
Lucas Leiva has played predominantly at centre-back when used by Jurgen Klopp and he has looked comfortable in that role. It was no different tonight until he brought down Spurs’ Erik Lamela and conceded a penalty. He was, however, accurate and productive in possession – as he often is.
LB: Alberto Moreno 6/10
Moreno has received plenty of criticism in recent months for some dreadful defensive performances. This evening he was not often tested by Spurs’ Onomah, but had the answers to the questions when he was. Offensively he was not able to have much of an impact.
DM: Georginio Wijnaldum 8/10
Jurgen Klopp has fielded Georginio Wijnaldum in a holding role on several occasions this season, and he has been marvellous. Tonight was more of the same. Though previously unfamiliar with a more defensive minded role, he has grown into it under the stewardship of Klopp. In the areas in front of the defence and also on when joining the attack, he was classy as ever.
CM: Kevin Stewart 7/10
Stewart looked comfortable in the middle of the park for Liverpool tonight. We saw glimpses of the 23-year-olds quality, as he produced some good passes and didn’t shy away from the tackle.
CM: Ovie Ejaria 8/10
18-years-old. You wouldn’t believe it. Ejaria looked accomplished in midfield for Liverpool tonight, playing some excellent, audacious passes and providing endless energy. I highly doubt this will be the last we’ll see from Ejaria this season, he was a joy to watch.
RW: Marko Grujic 4/10
You may have been fooled into thinking Grujic wasn’t on the field this evening. At 20-years-old his best years are ahead of him, but he didn’t contribute anything substantial this evening.
LW: Daniel Sturridge 9/10
It was Sturridge who wrote tomorrow’s headlines with two goals this evening. For the first he showed his poachers instinct, pouncing onto the loose ball and stroking the ball past Vorm. The second he had to think about a little more. He beat the offside trap, ran through on goal and got the better of Vorm once again from a 1-v-1 situation. He will perhaps be disappointed he isn’t walking away with the match-ball tonight after missing a series of opportunities to secure his hat-trick.
ST: Divock Origi 7/10
In his efforts to force his way back into the side, his performance tonight did him no harm. Early in the second half he played in a good ball towards Daniel Sturridge, but his team-mate was unable to find the back of the net. He also forced a great save from Spurs goalkeeper Michel Vorm, firing towards the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.