Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup third round and moved into the fourth round, with Lewis Koumas and several other youngsters doing enough to steal the show even though the goals came from the more experienced players. It was a sharp knockout win built on energy, pressing and movement, and it came with a clear message: the younger group can change a cup tie fast.
Andoni Iraola made 10 changes from the 0-0 draw with Fulham, and the reshuffle gave Lewis Koumas, James McConnell, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha a start together. At 20, 22, 19 and 18, they brought pace and bite from the first whistle. Iraola said he was happy for them and said they were very athletic, willing to win their duels and making their presence felt. That mattered because this was not a gentle run-out; it was a high-speed cup night in which Liverpool needed the younger players to keep the game alive.
The best example came near the end of the first half, when Koumas pressed Martin Dubravka, Destiny Udogie played an aimless pass up the line and Jeremie Frimpong beat Mathys Tel to the loose ball. Nyoni then played it forward to McConnell, who slipped Koumas in behind the defense. Koumas’s cross deflected to Alexis Mac Allister, whose effort went wide, and later Rio Ngumoha released him in on goal only for Dubravka to save. The finishing touch on the night still came from the senior side: Cody Gakpo drove inside and found Ngumoha before Mac Allister curled Liverpool’s opener into the top corner.
That is the awkward truth of the evening. Liverpool’s experienced players scored the three goals, but the young quartet set the tone and kept the press snapping. Koumas was still harrying Marco Senesi and Tosin Adarabioyo deep into the match before he came off after 82 minutes, and Iraola said his energy was contagious for the rest of the team. He also said Trey Nyoni was cramping and that Ngumoha and McConnell could not have run much more when they went off, a blunt measure of how hard the youngsters had been asked to work.
There is a reason Ngumoha is already being talked about like a senior first-team player, with his progress over the last 12 months changing how he is viewed, and Nyoni’s breakthrough in pre-season only sharpened that impression. Liverpool’s next step is the fourth round, and the one detail still missing is the opponent. The performance in the third round already showed the shape of the answer: in the EFL Cup, Liverpool’s young legs are no longer just filling space.
