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Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
After the Reds battle their way into the EFL Cup quarter finals, we dig into some of the winners and losers on the night.
It wasn’t plain sailing — with The Hard Way FC it never is — but Liverpool did eventually run out one-goal winners in a highly entertaining if somewhat more chaotic than Arne Slot would probably have enjoyed encounter with Brighton at the AmEx Stadium.
Despite going two goals up at the hour mark, the Reds were never fully in control, and a late surge from the hosts — assisted by some sloppy Reds defending and suspect refereeing — nearly saw the Seagulls pull it all the way back as time wound down.
They didn’t though, and Liverpool can call themselves EFL Cup quarter finalists once more, where they will face off with
After that, then, we provide a quick word on the winners and losers on the night.
Winners
Cody Gakpo: He may be behind Luis Díaz in the pecking order, but Cody Gakpo makes sure to grab his chances when he can get them, and tonight the Dutchman used both hands.
Scoring two goals, one in each corner, both rockets the keeper had little chance of touching, never mind stopping, the former PSV man was a menace all night for the home team, running at Tariq Lamptey, Jakub Moder and Jan Paul van Hekce constantly, and was joint top for shots, key passes and successful dribbles.
He did admittedly mess up a 3v1 counter attack by inexplicably chipping the ball to an onrushing Dominik Szoboszlai instead of playing the ball along the ground, and had the Reds managed to throw the game away at the end that situation would surely have been brought up more forcefully, but they didn’t so it won’t.
Nyoni Hive: Some of us have been singing the praises of young — he turned 17 back in June, and is younger than the iPhone — Trey Nyoni since the summer, and it is always a joy when a young prospect can take pre-season play and translate it into contributions in competitive games.
Featuring as both the false nine and the ten in his half hour on the pitch, Nyoni didn’t set anything ablaze, but he got involved plenty, and showed composure and ability on the ball, misplacing just two passes despite Brighton pressing the Reds aggressively as time began slipping away.
Elítězslav Jaroš: We exaggerate a little; he didn’t keep a clean sheet, and was wrong-footed on a couple of occasions, spilling the ball into the path of Simon Adingra for Brighton’s first goal, but a full debut is a full debut, and the 23-year old did make two excellent saves, coming off his line to close down an onrushing Lamptey in the first half, before slapping a goal-bound Adingra header onto the post in the second.
Losers
Fullbacks: Before the season began, some writers here at TLO suggested that left-back might secretly be a sore spot for the Reds, as Andy Robertson’s play style and injuries appear to have begun taking their toll, and Kostas Tsimikas may not hold quite the same standard as the Scotsman did at his peak.
Robbo had a rough night, consistently struggling to keep up with the double threat of Tariq Lamptey overlapping and Brajan Gruda cutting inside, getting beaten on four of his five tackle attempts. His fit for the quasi-centre back role the left-back plays in Slot’s set-up is also debatable, as his one-footedness makes him easy to read and trap for pressing attackers.
On the other side, Conor Bradley looked like a man coming back from — or still nursing — an injury, and with Simon Adingra, Pervis Estupiñan and eventually Kaoru Mitoma running at him, the freshly-minted Northern Ireland captain was beaten on seven of his ten tackle attempts.
The 21-year old will undoubtedly bounce back as he gets properly match fit again, but tonight was one to forget for fullbacks.
Nah-rell Quansah: After taking the team by storm last year, it’s been tougher for Jarell Quansah this season. Subbed off at half-time in the season opener for losing too many duels, the 21-year old has been given chances in the EFL Cup, and after performing well against West Ham, he had another difficult one tonight.
Handing Brighton a lifeline with a misplaced pass under pressure leading to their first goal, Quansah also had the decisive — and unfortunate — touch on the Tariq Lamptey shot that was deflected past Jaroš for the second. Again, though, the expectation is that this is the sort of bump in the road that a young player making strides into the first team at the elite level will experience, and that these are all part of improving and growing into the payer Quansah can become.
What Happens Next
It’s Brighton again at the weekend, as Liverpool play host to the Seagulls this time, attempting to reclaim top spot in the Premier League currently held by a Manchester City side that travel to Bournemouth on the same day.
After that, it’s the long-awaited return to Anfield for Xabi Alonso, who will bring his Bayer Leverkusen squad to Merseyside for a Champions League clash on Tuesday.
