Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham: Mac Allister, Gakpo and Szoboszlai power Anfield cup win

Liverpool made their Carabao Cup debut of the season a winning one. Because they were playing in Europe, Liverpool only joined the competition at the third round, and Tottenham Hotspur were the opponents at Anfield on Tuesday night. An Alexis Mac Allister opener, a Cody Gakpo second and a Dominik Szoboszlai volley in the first minute of stoppage time made it 3-1.

Mac Allister put Liverpool ahead in the 21st minute, and the lead held through a first half in which both sides collected bookings: Ronald Araujo in the 36th minute and Jeremie Frimpong in the 40th for the hosts, Omar Marmoush in the 41st and Rodrigo Bentancur in first-half stoppage time for Tottenham. Liverpool took the 1-0 lead into the interval.

Early in the second half came the goal that mattered most. Mac Allister, who had scored the opener, turned provider to set up Gakpo for 2-0 in the 54th minute. Tottenham answered in the 69th: Conor Gallagher headed in from a Mateus Fernandes assist to make it 2-1 and give the visitors a way back into the tie.

They never got the equaliser. Liverpool's own bench decided it. Szoboszlai, one of Liverpool's substitutes, volleyed in from a Gakpo assist in the first minute of stoppage time to restore the two-goal margin, and the tie was settled. Gakpo therefore finished with a goal and an assist, Mac Allister with a goal and an assist, and Szoboszlai with the goal that sealed it.

Goal by goal

1. 21' — Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool) 1-0
2. 54' — Cody Gakpo, assisted by Mac Allister (Liverpool) 2-0
3. 69' — Conor Gallagher, header, assisted by Mateus Fernandes (Tottenham Hotspur) 2-1
4. 90+1' — Dominik Szoboszlai, volley, assisted by Gakpo (Liverpool) 3-1

The line-ups

Liverpool started Giorgi Mamardashvili in goal, with McConnell, Nyoni, Koumas and Ngumoha among the names in the XI, and used five substitutes: Jacquet, Gravenberch, Barcola, Szoboszlai and Isak. It was one of those arrivals who scored the third. Tottenham also used five, among them Solanke and Maddison, and it was Fernandes from their bench who set up Gallagher's goal.

The numbers

The figures tell their own story: Tottenham had more of the ball and more corners, and still lost by two. Liverpool completed 305 of 370 passes to Tottenham's 413 of 476, and they committed more fouls (15 to 11), yet they had the goals.

Two sides in different moods

Both clubs came into the night with a recent record that was not quite settled. Liverpool had opened their Premier League season with draws against Newcastle (2-2) and Nottingham Forest (2-2), won 2-0 at Ipswich Town, beaten Atletico Madrid 2-1 in their Champions League opener and drawn 0-0 with Fulham at Anfield on the Saturday before this game. Tottenham, meanwhile, had started the league season with defeats at Brentford (0-3) and at home to Newcastle (0-2), followed by goalless draws with Nottingham Forest and Everton.

The cup was a different story for Tottenham. They arrived at Anfield having already won a round, beating Charlton Athletic 5-1 on 26 August, so Spurs had a rhythm of sorts in the competition that Liverpool, playing their first tie, did not. It made no difference in the end.

Head-to-head

Guriball has not previously published a meeting between Liverpool and Tottenham, so this report has no earlier game of the pair to set it against.

What the win changes

Liverpool go into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, scheduled for 27-29 October 2026. The competition has no standings to talk about, only a bracket, and Liverpool's side of it now holds a Premier League opponent. According to the bracket, their fourth-round tie was at Anfield against Chelsea, on 28 October. It finished 1-1 and Liverpool went through 6-5 on penalties, which set up a quarter-final against AFC Bournemouth on 16 December.

Tottenham are out of the Carabao Cup, and the focus turns back to the Premier League, where they host Aston Villa on 19 September. Liverpool, for their part, travel to Bournemouth on 20 September, a game they won 1-0 — a result that gives Liverpool some recent history against Bournemouth before the quarter-final in December.