A few years ago, Liverpool were mocked for adopting a slogan of “this means more”. In a match that surely meant more to Tottenham than them, Liverpool nevertheless won emphatically. It sums up the realities of the two clubs. Tottenham, desperate for a first trophy since 2008, abandoned the principles of Angeball to try and protect their first-leg lead and failed. Liverpool, with far greater priorities, nonetheless booked a final date with Newcastle as Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk struck. They ran riot without really needing to.
Arne Slot’s first silverware in England could come in the Carabao Cup. Ange Postecoglou, the man who has been adamant that he always wins something in his second season, now has one route to glory closed off. If Tottenham’s season is to be saved, it must be in the FA Cup or the Europa League. Their fans had begun the night singing about going to Wembley: they will instead head to the homelier surroundings of Craven Cottage on 16 March.
They should regret the feeling of inevitability about Liverpool’s progress. Tottenham remain one of only three teams to beat Slot’s side, courtesy of the first leg, and injuries remain a mitigating factor, but this was one-sided. Liverpool have won a second leg 4-0 at Anfield before – just ask Barcelona – but this was less momentous. It was, though, very professional. There was no sense of panic when half an hour elapsed without a breakthrough. By the final half-hour, Tottenham were trailing on aggregate, their initial gameplan rendered redundant. They lacked a response. The score just got worse.
It is not often Postecoglou’s Spurs are accused of being too defensive. Perhaps scarred by December’s 6-3 demolition, this may have been a rare time when they played for a 0-0 draw. It is an understatement to say they didn’t get one.
Defiant at the start, they had capitulated by the end. The deadline-day signing Kevin Danso was parachuted into a new-look centre-back partnership with Ben Davies. Initially, they acquitted themselves well, aided by plenty of protection. Yet pressure was building even before Gakpo struck, with an offside Szoboszlai having a goal chalked off.
Then Salah bent in a cross with the outside of his left boot. With Tottenham perhaps distracted by Darwin Nunez’s attempt at an overhead kick, it reached Gakpo at the far post. The Dutchman has now scored in his last seven appearances at Anfield; Salah’s form can obscure how prolific he is and Gakpo was the game’s outstanding performer. He was inches from a second, hitting the post from an acute angle, with Antonin Kinsky doing well to get a touch.
For the Czech goalkeeper, a first meeting with Liverpool had been a dream debut, with a clean sheet and a win a few days after signing. The reunion was less enjoyable. Kinsky had saved well from Salah when tipping a volley over the bar. Yet he was culpable when conceding a penalty: Salah’s pass was weighed perfectly to invite the goalkeeper out while allowing Nunez to get the first touch. Salah lifted the spot kick into the roof of the net for his seventh goal in as many games against Spurs. It was vindication, too, for Slot, who has rarely started Nunez in the bigger matches but was justified in benching Luis Diaz for the Uruguayan. His physicality and unpredictability made him the right choice for such an occasion.
No sooner had he departed than Liverpool scored a third goal. Ryan Gravenberch had just emulated Gakpo by hitting the post when Alexis Mac Allister, just off the bench, and Conor Bradley combined to release Szoboszlai, who slotted past Kinsky.
Then Van Dijk, the scorer of the winner in last year’s final, evaded Davies to head in Mac Allister’s corner. Liverpool may have deemed it poetic justice. The first leg had its dash of controversy, Slot feeling aggrieved Lucas Bergvall was still on the pitch to score the goal. The second started in a similar vein, Richarlison being caught by Van Dijk’s elbow. Both referee Craig Pawson and VAR determined it was not worthy of a red card. Richarlison’s theatrics meant he received little sympathy from the majority when he hobbled off before half-time, meaning a debut for Mathys Tel. With both other senior strikers now sidelined, it at least made it more important Tottenham signed the teenager from Bayern Munich.
But they lacked a threat. Their first shot came after 41 minutes, from Dejan Kulusevski. It was wide and wild. Heung-Min Son hit the bar, but only when they were 3-0 down. Tottenham failed to even register a shot on target. It scarcely mattered that Alisson was missing. But then he didn’t play in the 2022 and 2024 finals and Liverpool won them both. It is the sort of record Tottenham can only envy.
