LIVERPOOL 鈥 Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece as holders Liverpool thrashed West Ham United, 5-1, at Anfield on Wednesday to cruise into the fourth round of the League Cup in another solid performance from Arne Slot鈥檚 side.
Mohamed Salah was also on target for Liverpool who fell behind and endured some nervy moments before pulling away for a comfortable victory.
Arsenal crushed third-tier Bolton Wanderers 5-1 in the evening鈥檚 other League Cup tie.
West Ham 鈥 who were reduced to 10 men when Edson Alvarez was shown a second yellow card in the 76th minute 鈥 opened the scoring at Anfield when Wataru Endo鈥檚 attempt to clear a corner ricocheted off Jarell Quansah and past keeper Caoimhin Kelleher for an own goal.
The Hammers鈥 celebrations were short-lived as Jota equalized four minutes later, leaping to head home Federico Chiesa鈥檚 acrobatic volley.
Jota netted his second in the 49th minute when Curtis Jones slotted a reverse pass to the Portuguese player who scored into the bottom corner.
Talisman Salah made it 3-1 in the 74th when he knocked in the rebound off Alexis Mac Allister鈥檚 shot, and then Alvarez was sent off two minutes later following a late challenge.
Gakpo added to Liverpool鈥檚 lead with goals in the 90th and 93rd minutes, his first a fantastic strike from 17 yards out after a one-two with Darwin Nunez.
The Reds captured a record 10th League Cup title last season, manager Juergen Klopp鈥檚 final trophy with the team before he stepped down at the end of the campaign.
New manager Slot has barely missed a beat. The Reds sit a point behind Manchester City in second in the Premier League after five games. They also opened their Champions League campaign with a victory over AC Milan last week.
NWANERI DOUBLE
Arsenal鈥檚 Ethan Nwaneri scored twice 鈥 the 17-year-old鈥檚 first goals for the club 鈥 while Raheem Sterling netted his debut goal for the Gunners. Declan Rice and Kai Havertz also scored at the Emirates Stadium, while Aaron Collins netted Bolton鈥檚 lone goal.
On the heels of a hard-fought 2-2 league draw with Manchester City on Sunday, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta shuffled his side, giving Nwaneri and 16-year-old keeper Jack Porter their first starts.
Declan Rice opened scoring with a goal from 18 yards out in the 16th minute before Nwaneri made his presence felt in the 37th, latching onto a cross from Sterling to finish into an empty net from close range. 鈥 Reuters
