Liverpool’s journey in the Carabao Cup came to an end on Tuesday night after Aston Villa ran riot at the Villa Park, defeating the Reds 5-0. The defeat means that Liverpool have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup while their rivals Manchester City and Manchester United will play their respective quarter-final draws on Wednesday night.
The Reds fielded their youth side with the entire playing XI revamped due to their FIFA Club World Cup commitments. Their first-choice team is competing at the prestigious tournament with all the regular starters going full guns blazing to earn the Club World Cup trophy.
This completely allowed Aston Villa to take charge of the situation and hammer the Reds’ youth side in the quarter final of the Football League Cup.
4 - Liverpool have conceded four first half goals for the first time in any competition since May 2015, against Stoke in the Premier League. Leaky. #CarabaoCup #AVLLIV pic.twitter.com/ZsmHAjLYv4
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 17, 2019
Although, Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp had raised concerns with the conflicting schedule of the league cup quarter final with the Club World Cup, his opinions were disavowed, forcing Liverpool to field a completely different side in the quarter final.
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Aston Villa were clinical from the beginning, finding the back of the net four times in the first-half itself, sending an alarming message to the Liverpool dressing room. Villa’s striker Jonathan Kodjia scored two goals within a span of eight minutes in the first half leaving the home fans ecstatic.
Highlight of Aston villa Vs liverpool 😞 #AVLLIV pic.twitter.com/cd5UTyDYZ0
— Michey Miles (@MicheyMiles) December 18, 2019
Reds’ inexperienced youth tried to put on the ‘big boy’ show in the second half by following in the footsteps of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane but were ineffective in converting their chances. They held on and didn’t allow any goal until Wesley Moraes converted Trezeguet’s subliminal assist into a goal, leaving the scoreline 5-0 in favour of the home side.
Klopp watched from 4,000 miles away on a defeat that could have been avoided if the game was moved to a different date. Liverpool are fighting for eternal glory and will be looking to lift their maiden Club World Cup title under the tutelage of the German manager.
Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Paul Ellis
