Szoboszlai screamer seals Liverpool’s progress as De Zerbi’s Spurs woes grow

Tottenham scored and Roberto De Zerbi eulogised the quality at his disposal, yet try telling Spurs’ suffering away support there was consolation to be found at Anfield. Liverpool toyed with De Zerbi by advancing into round four with a quality of finishing that he can only dream of.

While the Spurs head coach talked a good game and his players played a pretty one in harmless areas, Liverpool produced the only effective one. Alexis Mac Allister promoted his claims for a new contract for the second midweek in succession with an excellent strike and Cody Gakpo continued his fine early season form with a smart second plus an assist. But both were overshadowed by Dominik Szoboszlai’s stupendous 25-yard finish in stoppage time.

“It was a worldie,” said Liverpool’s head coach, Andoni Iraola, whose changes injected energy and bite into the home display. “The thing with Dom is you trust him to score before he shoots. With others you might think it’s too far out, but not with him.”

Spurs caused a few anxieties when Conor Gallagher headed home after Giorgi Mamardashvili’s failure to deal with a Mateus Fernandes corner. But the Liverpool stand-in keeper atoned with several impressive stops, the best from Omar Marmoush, and the visitors’ wastefulness would prove another factor in their downfall. Defeat was deserved, despite De ­Zerbi’s claims to the contrary.

“We have to shoot more, we have to shoot better and we have to finish better the clear situations,” said the Spurs head coach. “But we are sorry for the result, disappointed, frustrated. I think it is unfair but we have to be stronger in these unlucky moments. In these five or six games we have not been lucky. We have to improve a lot of things but we are in the right way. I have big confidence and a big opinion of my players.”

De Zerbi made eight changes from Saturday’s stalemate with Everton, Iraola made 10 from a similarly drab draw against Fulham. It was new faces but a similar story for Spurs as, for the second successive game against Merseyside opposition, they seized control from the start but failed to capitalise when in the ascendancy. Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus both should have scored from left-wing crosses by Destiny Udogie. The former allowed Mamardashvili to make an ­important, improvised save when he had the entire goal to aim for. The latter volleyed over from four yards out.

Liverpool turned the tide thanks to impressive contributions from the young quartet of Lewis Koumas, James McConnell, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha. Koumas led the line with an aggression and work rate that Iraola wants from all of his forwards, regardless of their price tags.

Mac Allister opened the scoring when Udogie’s attempt to halt Ngumoha’s weaving run across the area put the ball on a plate for the incoming midfielder. Opening his body, Mac Allister went for power and placement and swept a shot into Martin Dubravka’s top left-hand corner.

Mac Allister’s opener arrived between Spurs’ two missed chances from Bergvall and Kudus. Another fine Liverpool move and emphatic finish punished the visitors a second time nine minutes after the restart. McConnell and Ngumoha were heavily involved before Milos Kerkez picked out Mac Allister in space, prompting groans from the Kop over the full-back’s refusal to shoot. They were quickly silenced as the Argentina international’s first-time pass found Gakpo, who stepped inside a nonexistent challenge from Archie Gray and beat Dubravka with an angled drive.

All hope appeared to have been lost for Spurs, not that their finishing offered much in the first place, but the stoic backing of their admirable away support indicated ­otherwise. The visitors were handed a lifeline when Mamardashvili and Jeremie Frimpong failed to deal with a Fernandes corner. The goalkeeper missed his attempt to punch clear and Gallagher, left alone at the back post by Frimpong, had the simple task of heading in from close range.

Mamardashvili made amends in superb style to deny Marmoush an equaliser when the forward’s shot took a slight deflection off ­Ronald Araújo. At the other end Tosin Adarabioyo escaped twice: first with a wayward pass that led to a gilt-edged chance for Szoboszlai, saved by Dubravka, and when Alexander Isak’s cross struck his arm. There was no video assistant referee in operation to correct the decision.

Spurs would not escape a third time. In stoppage time, Szoboszlai let Gakpo’s flick roll off his chest before thumping a fabulous shot beyond Dubravka from long range. He celebrated by pointing to his ear, perhaps in response to the criticism his display against Fulham had attracted. The Liverpool vice-captain’s concerns pale in comparison to De Zerbi’s and his toothless team.