Liverpool 5-1 West Ham | EFL Cup | Third Round | Post Match

EFL Cup holders Liverpool are through to the fourth round after beating West Ham United 5-1 at Anfield on Wednesday night, the same scoreline they beat the Hammers by at the quarter-final stage of last season's competition.

Although Arne Slot's side made a dominant start to proceedings, West Ham took the lead thanks to a scrappy own goal inadvertently bundled over the line by Jarrell Quansah, but their advantage was short-lived, as Diogo Jota reacted quickest to head home an equaliser just four minutes later.

Jota then scored his and Liverpool's second with a composed finish four minutes after the interval, before his replacement off the substitutes' bench Mohamed Salah fired a third into the roof of the net with 16 minutes remaining.

West Ham - who caused Liverpool problems throughout the second half, either from set-pieces or on the counter-attack - were left enraged after having two appeals for handball inside the penalty area rightly waved away by referee Andy Madley, either side of Max Kilman squandering a glorious chance to score from close range.

Julen Lopetegui appeared to pull a muscle as he jumped in frustration on the touchline, and the Hammers' evening went from bad to worse when Edson Alvarez received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Salah.

Liverpool then rubbed salt into West Ham's wounds with two late goals from Cody Gakpo, securing their place in the fourth round where they will face Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium next month.