LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – Holders Liverpool booked their return ticket to Wembley and a League Cup final against Newcastle United after dashing Tottenham Hotspur’s dreams 4-0, and 4-1 on aggregate, at Anfield on Thursday.
The favourites took the lead, to level 1-1 on aggregate against the injury-depleted visitors, when Cody Gakpo fired in a right-foot shot in the 34th minute from a Mohamed Salah cross.
Salah added his name to the scoresheet, shooting high into the net from the penalty spot in the 51st minute after Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky downed Darwin Nunez, Dominik Szoboszlai slotted home the third and Virgil van Dijk completed the rout with a header.
Newcastle saw off Tottenham’s north London rivals Arsenal 2-0, and 4-0 on aggregate, on Wednesday to secure their second final in three years on March 16.
The final will be a first in English football for Liverpool’s Dutch manager Arne Slot, who replaced Juergen Klopp at the end of last season, and 10-times League Cup winners Liverpool remained on course for a four-trophy haul this season.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond)
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