With a strong performance against West Ham at Anfield, Liverpool advanced to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Liverpool’s spot in the final four was never in doubt after Dominik Szoboszlai drove a magnificent 25-yard effort into the bottom corner after 28 minutes.
Curtis Jones scored his second goal 11 minutes after the restart, fooling Alphonse Areola into thinking he was going to cut a ball back from the edge of the six-yard box and instead driving a shot through the legs of the Hammers’ keeper.
Cody Gakpo was given too much room to score his eighth goal of the season 19 minutes from time, then Mohamed Salah made it four when he raced free of the visitors’ defense and finished, before Jones completed a great run with his second.
The superb Harvey Elliott, Gakpo, and substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold all had chances, and Salah blasted the rebound wide of an empty net after Areola had pushed a Darwin Nunez shot on to a post.
It was the first time Liverpool had scored five goals at home against West Ham since 1998, and it keeps them on track for a record-extending tenth title in the competition, which they last won in 2022.
It was a frustrating night for Hammers manager David Moyes. After 21 visits, the former Everton manager has yet to win at this stadium, and Jarrod Bowen’s 77th-minute goal with West Ham’s first effort on target was paltry consolation.