This, if anything, illustrated the disparate beginnings that Arne Slot and Julen Lopetegui have had in their respective positions.
Before this third-round League Cup match, Liverpool had won five of their six games played under Slot, while West Ham had only earned one win under Lopetegui.
The last thing the manager of the Hammers needed was a crushing loss after being jeered off after their 3-0 loss to Chelsea the previous Saturday.But when Edson Alvarez was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 75th minute, what had otherwise been a lively performance rapidly turned unsightly. After Diogo Jota’s brace and Jarrel Quansah’s own goal gave West Ham an early lead, Mohammed Salah’s goal made it 3-1 when he was dismissed.
Liverpool’s 10-man collapsed when they smelled blood. In stoppage time, Cody Gakpo scored two more goals to complete the picture for Slot and increase the pressure on Lopetegui.The Spaniard was not happy after two of his team’s penalty appeals—one against Joe Gomez and the other against Kostas Tsimikas—were denied in the second half.
However, replays revealed that the referees seemed to make the correct calls. Lopetegui thought Liverpool’s opening goal was offside as well. It was a close call, and the offensive team won because VAR was not used.
“We don’t deserve this score,” Lopetegui declared. “I would rather not discuss the referee because, in my opinion, the major decisions made today have gone against us.
“
“It was much harder after the red card.” We had a terrible finish to the match. Although the photo wasn’t great, this isn’t what we deserve.
Liverpool had a record ten wins in this competition, and Slot made mention of the unique way Jurgen Klopp led a youthful team to victory the previous year. However, he had urged his team to set off on their own, and they are currently in full force, heading to Brighton for their fourth round match.
It’s a challenging draw, Slot remarked. However, I believe that practically every team that was left in is a quality squad, and playing against tough opponents is a must if you want to win a trophy.
“We proved today that we have a lot of good players.”
Lopetegui made seven changes to his starting lineup, while Slot made nine, including Federico Chiesa’s debut.
Before Danny Ings believed he had opened the score in the eighteenth minute, but the offside flag was raised, both teams had opportunities. However, a mistake on defense by West Ham allowed them to score again minutes later.