Diogo Jota fired Liverpool into the final of the Carabao Cup as they beat Arsenal 2-0 on aggregate.
Arsenal had held on for a resilient goalless draw with 10 men in the first leg seven days ago, but Diogo Jota broke their resistance on 19 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, and added a second with 13 minutes to go to seal the victory.
The Gunners saw another player dismissed as Thomas Partey, back early from the Africa Cup of Nations after Ghana’s surprise exit, was sent off in the 90th minute for two bookings having only come on as a substitute 16 minutes earlier.
Liverpool will face Chelsea in the final at Wembley on Sunday, February 27, with Jurgen Klopp one step closer to a first domestic cup trophy with the club.
Brilliant Jota fires Liverpool into the final
Arsenal started brilliantly – with Alexandre Lacazette hitting the crossbar from an early free-kick – but a warning shot from Liverpool changed the course of the game. Joel Matip was alert to poke in from Fabinho’s header on a corner, but was flagged offside
It seemed to make Arsenal a little jittery, and six minutes later Jota brilliantly took advantage as he picked up a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold before cutting inside Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White, then finding the bottom corner with a slightly scuffed finish past the stretched arm of Aaron Ramsdale.
And with 13 minutes to go it was Jota again who sealed the game. Alexander-Arnold was the man with the pass again as he lifted one over the top into his run, and the Portuguese forward raced through to dink over Ramsdale. Initially flagged offside, the goal was eventually given by VAR.
“He is such an intelligent footballer. There’s a lot of elements to his game that we like, but he even knew – he looked across the line and he knew he wasn’t offside. He’s aware, he can see along the line, he made his run perfectly.
“I was so impressed with his game today. He looked like a man who thought ‘I’m going to show what I’m capable of’. It was his time. He started the game well and it makes the difference. Everything he did today was magnificent.”
Player ratings
Arsenal: Ramsdale (5), Tomiyasu (4), White (5), Gabriel (6), Tierney (6), Lokonga (6), Odegaard (6), Saka (5), Smith Rowe (6), Martinelli (7), Lacazette (5)
Subs used: Partey (2), Nketiah (5)
Liverpool: Kelleher (7), Alexander-Arnold (9), Matip (4), Van Dijk (7), Robertson (8), Fabinho (7), Henderson (7), Jones (7), Gordon (6), Jota (9), Firmino (6)
Subs used: Konate (6), Milner (6), Minamino (5), Williams (n/a)
Man of the match: Diogo Jota
