LIVERPOOL: Liverpool destroyed West Ham United 5-1 on Wednesday to set up a League Cup semi-final against Fulham, easing the frustration of their weekend Premier League stalemate against Manchester United.

Curtis Jones scored twice and Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah were also on the scoresheet for Jurgen Klopp’s dominant team, who were trophyless last season.

No team have won more League Cups than Liverpool, who lifted the trophy for the ninth time in the 2021/22 season.

The Reds had 34 shots against United in Sunday’s Premier League match without finding the net, failing to win at home for the first time this season to their intense frustration.

Manager Jurgen Klopp said he was delighted with his team’s “joyful football” as they once again clicked in front of goal against West Ham.

“We were brave in our positioning, our second ball game was exceptional,” he said.

“It was a really, really good performance from start to finish.

“It is really tough for all of us, there’s a lot of games and the boys played a lot of football already.”

The much-changed home side, with Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench and Alisson Becker rested completely, launched wave after wave of attacks, with West Ham struggling to lay a glove on their opponents.

Szoboszlai netted in the 28th minute with a strike from 20 yards that sailed into the far corner. Jones doubled Liverpool’s lead with his first goal minutes into the second half after a give-and-go with Darwin Nunez, sprinting onto Nunez’s pass to one-time his shot through keeper Alphonse Areola’s legs.

Gakpo scored from the top of the 18-yard box before Jarrod Bowen pulled one back for the Hammers in the 77th minute. Salah put the game away in the 82nd minute and Jones completed his brace two minutes later, slashing through West Ham’s defence with such ease it had manager David Moyes seething with anger.

Liverpool, who host Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday with a chance to leapfrog the London side, will face Fulham in the first leg of the two-legged League Cup semi-final on Jan 8 while Middlesbrough will take on Chelsea in the other last-four tie.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2023