An unfortunate own goal from Jarell Quansah gave the away side the lead at Anfield, but two goals each from Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo and a second-half strike from Mohamed Salah set Liverpool on their way to an emphatic result.
The Reds played their second-string side and games continue to come thick and fast for them, with Federico Chiesa making his full debut for the club and the likes of Wataru Endo, Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Curtis Jones making their first starts of the season.
West Ham, on the other hand, played a strong team but were simply not good enough as they got blown away at Anfield.
They were on the wrong end of a hammering but Frank Leboeuf feels things could have been a lot different if not for a dubious refereeing decision early in the game.
Frank Leboeuf says Diogo Jota’s first goal for Liverpool should have been ruled out
(THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Diogo Jota of Liverpool celebrating after scoring the second goal during the Carabao Cup Third Round match bet...
Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Jota restored parity for Liverpool with a close-range header after Chiesa’s miss-kick inside the penalty area fell kindly to him.
However, in the build-up to the goal, Cody Gakpo appeared to have been offside, although it wasn’t spotted as VAR isn’t functional in the EFL Cup.
“There’s an offside [Cody Gakpo] for Diogo Jota’s first goal and it could have been a penalty for a handball by Gomez,” said Leboeuf on ESPN UK’s YouTube channel.
“Because there’s no VAR during the league cup, we’ll never know. But as soon as Liverpool equalised, we didn’t see West Ham anymore and that’s very worrying.”
What next for Liverpool?
The Reds have a UEFA Champions League clash against Bologna at home sandwiched between their Premier League away trips to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace.
Arne Slot will look to rotate his squad and keep his players fit as they prepare to play three games in nine days across all competitions.
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