In the third round of the Carabao Cup, Liverpool defeated Leicester City 3-1, and Anfield Watch viewers selected Wataru Endo as their Player of the Match.
On Wednesday night, the Reds fell behind once more when Kasey McAteer gave the Championship front-runners an early lead. In the second half, though, goals from Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Diogo Jota gave the hosts the advantage back.
As a result, Liverpool has won seven games in a row in 2023–24, and interestingly, they have also won four straight games by a score of 3–1, defeating Wolves, LASK, and West Ham.
Jurgen Klopp described the game’s conclusion as a “top night, with top goals.”
According to Liverpoolfc.com, he stated:
“To be honest, it was a terrific performance. Minute by minute, we grew into that game.
“With all the quality of Leicester, we have to admit that as well, super-coached team obviously, super set-up, you can pretty much see, feel and smell the confidence they have because of their situation, so that made life difficult. But we kept going and improved during the game as a team clearly but individually as well, a lot of performances stepped up and here we are, and I like that a lot.
“[We scored] top goals, absolutely top goals. But I think the goals we didn’t score were pretty beautiful as well, just didn’t go in – like the last of Harvey, I have no clue who blocked that.
“How I said, now looking back, a top night for us because you look at Wataru, how he grew into the game and how dominant he was in the second half, how he really won the balls, passed the ball. I’m not sure it was the last pass before Dom scores but for sure probably he passed the ball through the lines again, what he did quite frequently. That was really, really good, he played a super game.
“Jarell Quansah, not only playing outstandingly well, setting a goal up. So exciting, you cannot watch him without smiling, to be honest. It’s really, really nice to see.”
After winning, Liverpool was drawn to play Bournemouth in the fourth round of the tournament. The match will take place at the Vitality Stadium on October 31.
WHO WAS THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH?
While Szoboszlai’s rocket made headlines, Wataru Endo’s active and assured midfield display triumphed over Anfield Watch viewers in the Player of the Match poll. The Japan captain received close to 48% of the vote from just under 7,000 total votes.
Szoboszlai, who had just been playing for the previous 30 minutes, finished second with 31.5%, followed by Cody Gakpo (11.9%) and Ryan Gravenberch (9%) of the Netherlands, who finished third and fourth, respectively.
In just his third Liverpool appearance, 30-year-old Endo completed 90% of his passes, had four interceptions, won three of four aerial duels, and provided his first club assist by setting up Szoboszlai’s screamer.
After the game, Endo admitted that the contest with Leicester wasn’t even the most crucial event taking place that day.
He told The Athletic,
“It was a big day today as my four kids started at their new school.
“I haven’t heard yet how they found it, but I’m looking forward to hearing all about it. I’m so happy that my family are here finally. We’ve moved into a new house and everything is good. I can’t wait to see them. Family is everything to me.”
Szoboszlai won the club’s official Player of the Match award, beating out Gakpo and Darwin Nuez in the process.