Liverpool staged a second-half turnaround to beat Fulham at Anfield in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie.
2023/2024 League Cup
2-1
The visitors had taken the lead in the first half when Willian showed great control inside the area to slot in.
It was no less than Fulham deserved after an impressive first half, but Liverpool stepped it up after the break and fought back with two goals in three minutes.
First, Curtis Jones equalised when his 68th-minute strike from distance took a big deflection off Tosin Adarabioyo to wrong-foot Bernd Leno in the Fulham goal.
Substitute Cody Gakpo then drove in a Darwin Nunez pull-back to send the home crowd wild.
It was the second time in just over a month that Liverpool had denied Fulham success at Anfield. Marco Silva's side had led 3-2 in the final 10 minutes of their Premier League clash on 3 December but lost 4-3.
The two sides will meet again in the second leg at Craven Cottage on Wednesday, 24 January, with Jurgen Klopp's men now in the driving seat as they look to keep alive their hopes of a record-extending 10th League Cup win.
Match Events
6' Jones' long shot too straight
19' GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Fulham (Willian)
24' Yellow Card! Van Dijk booked
44' Pereira's long shot stopped
49' CHANCE! Gravenberch's long shot wide out
63' Reid's shot stopped by Kelleher
68' GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Fulham (Curtis Jones)
71' GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Fulham (Cody Gakpo)
80' Nunez's header stopped by Leno
88' Yellow Card! Lukic booked
Line-ups
Liverpool XI: Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Jota, Kelleher, Konate, Mac Allister, Luis Díaz, Curtis Jones, Gravenberch, Elliott, Conor Bradley
Subs: Alisson, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Núñez, Owen Beck, Jarell Quansah, Kaide Gordon, Bobby Clark, James McConnell, Trey Nyoni
Fulham XI: Willian, Leno, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Jimenez, Pereira, João Palhinha, Castagne, Harrison Reed, T.Adarabioyo, Diop, Antonee Robinson
Subs: Tom Cairney, Tim Ream, Tete, Lukic, Harry Wilson, Marek Rodak, Carlos Vinícius, Tyrese Francois, Rodrigo Muniz