The Reds stumbled through much of the semi-final first leg but had the determination required to turn things around
It was far from a convincing performance, but Liverpool managed to fight back from a goal down to beat Fulham 2-1 in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie at Anfield on Wednesday.
Jurgen Klopp will be relieved that Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo were able to net twice within the space of three minutes in the second half to pull the Reds out of the hole they found themselves in, after Virgil van Dijk's error cleared the way for Willian's opening goal.
Marco Silva's Cottagers will be devastated by such a collapse when they had looked so dangerous at times, but they wasted a few chances and were let down by poor decision-making before Jones found the equaliser courtesy of a big deflection.
Liverpool's turnaround was complete immediately afterwards when substitutes Darwin Nunez and Gakpo combined, with the Uruguayan teeing it up for the Dutchman to knock home from close range.
GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Anfield…
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Caoimhin Kelleher (6/10):
Well beaten for the goal but pulled off two saves to keep the score tight.
Conor Bradley (7/10):
A bright display as he played high up and showed quick movement and imagination around the Fulham box. Looked strong when cutting out Fulham's attacks down that side, too.
Ibrahima Konate (6/10):
More reliable than his centre-back partner but still gave away a bit too much space and had a couple of nervy incidents.
Virgil van Dijk (4/10):
His sloppiness gave away Fulham's opening goal and had a few more dodgy defensive moments that could have resulted in a second yellow card.
Joe Gomez (6/10):
Pushed up high and central to try to get onto his right foot and did a decent job offering support.
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Ryan Gravenberch (5/10):
Seemed behind the pace of the game and rather clumsy in the first half but livened up at the start of the second period before going off early.
Alexis Mac Allister (6/10):
Offered some fight in the midfield but very little went his way when he had it.
Curtis Jones (7/10):
Lively on the ball and his passing was good but struggled to find a way through the crowd until he sent the equaliser flying in from the edge of the box with the help of a deflection.
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Harvey Elliott (6/10):
Worked well with Bradley and offered solutions by running towards the centre but went off just 10 minutes into the second half.
Diogo Jota (7/10):
Marked out of the first half but really came to life later on. Carved out a dangerous attack for himself that was blocked, dug in to win the ball and provide the equaliser, and then got things rolling for the second.
Luis Diaz (4/10):
Seemed to kill off most attacks that came his way as he failed to link up with Jota.
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Cody Gakpo (7/10):
Was perfectly placed to knock in his team's second goal and showed some good movement overall.
Darwin Nunez (6/10):
Added a bit more energy and battled for the ball high up before setting up Gakpo.
Jurgen Klopp (6/10):
Some positives to take for the coach but he will have a few questions for the likes of Diaz, Gravenberch and Van Dijk after so many nervy and toothless moments from his team.