Liverpool 1 Carlisle United 1 (Liverpool win 3-2 on penalties)
Victory at last for Brendan Rodgers, but no respite whatsoever. Liverpool needed a penalty shootout to overcome League Two Carlisle United in the Capital One Cup after yet another laboured display at Anfield. The Premier League team booked a place in round four at home to Bournemouth but it was Keith Curle’s men who took the acclaim.
Adam Bogdan saved from Danny Grainger, Luke Joyce and finally Bastien Héry in the shootout, the stand-in keeper’s stop from the French midfielder securing victory after James Milner, Emre Can and Danny Ings had converted for Liverpool. But this was another galling night for a manager who awoke to reports that his job had been offered to the Champions League winner Carlo Ancelotti, rumours denied by the Anfield club.
Liverpool were booed off at the end of normal time – the condemnation louder than after Sunday’s draw with Norwich City – and after both periods of extra time. Rodgers’ team had 46 shots during the 120 minutes and yet lacked invention against a team 65 places below them in English league football. Their problems were not confined to the performance level though. Dejan Lovren was stretchered off seconds before the end with what appeared a serious injury to his right ankle. The Croatian defender fell awkwardly inside the Carlisle area and required gas and air as he was carried away.
Rodgers took few chances with his lineup, understandably given his predicament, and Liverpool began brightly, exchanging passes sharply around the Carlisle penalty area and peppering Mark Gillespie’s goal whenever and wherever the opportunity arose. Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino played through the visiting midfield straight from kick-off and the Brazilian tested the keeper from distance within 10 seconds. The £29m summer signing’s chance to impress ended prematurely, however, when he landed awkwardly following an aerial challenge with Antony Sweeney and departed with a back injury. Lallana and the lively Ings also went close as Liverpool controlled the opening period.
Curle matched Liverpool’s 3-4-2-1 formation but his confidence took a while to be reflected in his players’ performance. The visitors started nervously, although improved significantly after taking their manager’s advice, bellowed repeatedly from the technical area, to keep possession for as long as possible and grow into the game. Bastien Héry shot over from 20 yards and Alex McQueen just failed to connect with a deep cross to the back post as Carlisle served notice of their potential threat.
Ings was Liverpool’s most prominent, aggressive player in the final third, as was the case when he replaced Christian Benteke at half-time against Norwich City on Sunday, and scored his second goal in two games to give Rodgers’ side a deserved breakthrough. Alberto Moreno cut inside from the left and found Lallana running into the area. The midfielder swept over an inviting cross for Ings to head home from close range. Neither Lallana nor the goalscorer were put under any pressure in the buildup to Liverpool’s goal. That failing would be repeated by the Premier League side when Carlisle sent their 6,000 supporters wild with an equaliser.
Asamoah, the well-travelled 34-year-old forward selected ahead of the leading scorer, Ibehre, was close to connecting with McQueen’s cross as the visitors broke easily down the Liverpool left. Seconds later a simple pass in midfield released Héry from Joe Allen and co, and the French midfielder ran unchallenged down the centre of the pitch before releasing Asamoah behind a non-existent Liverpool central defence. The veteran striker beat Bogdan with a powerful finish inside the stand-in keeper’s near post while Anfield, and Rodgers, wondered why no one in a red shirt had attempted a tackle.
Can and Firmino’s replacement, Divock Origi, went close either side of the interval while the Belgium international volleyed horribly wide when teed up by James Milner’s header. Carlisle were encamped on the edge of their penalty area after the restart but there was desperation at times in Liverpool’s play, not least when Martin Skrtel shot high into the Kop from 40 yards. Only seven minutes of the second half had elapsed at that wild point.
The frequency of shots from distance also reflected Liverpool’s inability to break down a League Two defence. Cambridge United and Plymouth Argyle managed four goals apiece against Carlisle in August.
Rodgers brought on his insurance policy, Philippe Coutinho, just after the hour. The Brazilian stung Gillespie’s palms – also from long-range – and floated a delightful ball into Lallana to waste but there remained a distinct lack of ingenuity and finesse to Liverpool’s play. Carlisle’s three-man central defence worked tirelessly, with close protection from Joyce and Gary Dicker in central midfield, to limit the openings.
