Fulham’s shot at glory falls short as Liverpool reach Carabao Cup final
Fulham 1-1 Liverpool (2-3 on aggregate) (Diop 77’ | Diaz 11’)
CRAVEN COTTAGE – The red mist of the pyrotechnics was still swirling as Fulham gave up an audacious cup dream. It is Liverpool who will meet Chelsea at Wembley in a replay of the 2022 final and for the 11th year running, a trophy which was once the making of unlikely heroes will be lifted by one of the big six.
When the Reds last won it two years ago, their triumph was accompanied by the low hum of quadruple talk. They are storming through this season with considerably less fanfare – still, they remain in contention on all four fronts.
It was supposed to be the Fulham fans, rather than the players, waving white flags – but if they were initially overawed by the sense of occasion, at times they were guilty of wilting physically too. Timothy Castagne was beaten in the air by Luis Diaz before the Colombian beat the offside trap and teed up a deflection off Joao Palhinha. Bernd Leno will not want to look back on his effort at the near post.
The ball over the top from 20-year-old centre-back Jarrell Quansah would have done the absent Trent Alexander-Arnold proud, his third assist in this season’s competition, more than any other player.
It was a Liverpool academy graduate in Harry Wilson who changed the game, injecting Fulham with a shot of hope after his substitution with a brilliant run to set up Issa Diop’s header.
For the Premier League’s more unpredictable quantities, and Fulham are certainly among them, Liverpool ought to provide a blueprint of how a team can rediscover its identity with such potency. They have expended such effort on perfecting the counter-press that even injuries to key personnel cannot disrupt their system.
Leno had done his best to keep Fulham in it, notwithstanding Diaz’s goal, with pivotal saves from Harvey Elliott and Darwin Nunez. But in the moments where Liverpool turned on the style, they were difficult to keep at bay. Whatever happens in the final on 25 February, it feels as though more shots at glory are around the corner.
For Fulham, this was Marco Silva’s best shot at an enduring legacy. Last season, when they were knocked out by Crawley, he made 10 changes. There was no doubt how seriously he was taking the cup this time around, the club’s biggest hope of a first major trophy since the 2010 Europa League final.
It has been a memorable run, with famous victories over Tottenham and Everton on penalties. The challenge now is to create more nights like this. Fulham cannot afford to become another Crystal Palace, content with mediocrity. There seemed a disharmony once again between aspirations on the pitch and off it; crowds heaved outside the ground as kick-off approached, with some fans still taking their seats around the half-hour mark.
The curse of the Carabao Cup is that the sense of expectation surrounding Liverpool will now crank up a notch – no bad thing with a first trophy of the season within touching distance.
