Liverpool vs. Tottenham Player Ratings: Rotated Reds Triumph, Compound Spurs’ Misery

Liverpool are through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after defeating Tottenham Hotspur 3–1 at Anfield on Tuesday night.

The visitors were superior initially, but the game completely changed after a well-crafted Liverpool action was capped off by Alexis Mac Allister, who fired an unstoppable hit from the edge of the penalty area to give his side the lead 21 minutes in.

The Reds assumed full control of the match soon after halftime when Cody Gakpo needed just the most marginal of spaces to unleash a rocket of a hit into the far post to double Liverpool’s advantage before the hour mark.

It seemed like Andoni Iraola’s men had the game under total control when a mistake from Giorgi Mamardashvili trying to clear a corner allowed Conor Gallagher to tap in a header from close range to give Tottenham life in the 69th minute.

Nerves and tension invaded Anfield, but Dominik Szoboszlai clinched Liverpool’s third goal with the latest addition to his extensive catalogue of sensational long-rage strikes, scoring in stoppage time.

Despite deploying a rotated side, Liverpool handled business and progressed. Meanwhile, Tottenham were wasteful and paid the price. They will only play Premier League games for the rest of 2026, turning up the heat on Roberto De Zerbi.

Heroes and Villains

Hero

On a side full of young players and rotational pieces, Alexis Mac Allister had an added responsibility to help steer Liverpool to the promise land, and he did just that. Operating in midfield next to Trey Nyoni and a forward line full of youth and fringe talents, the Argentine stepped up and was everywhere.

Liverpool’s No. 10 was always well positioned to serve as an outlet in build-up to bypass Tottenham’s press, but it was his ability to crash the box that shined on Tuesday. He always appeared inside or near the penalty area with menacing intent, and his goal, the highlight of a dominant performance, was a simply stunning finish.

He also assisted Gakpo’s strike which doubled Liverpool’s lead and put the game on ice early in the second half.

Villains

Roberto De Zerbi’s seat is getting hotter by the match it seems like. | Michael Regan/Getty Images

Playing against a Liverpool side far from full strength should’ve been a golden opportunity for Tottenham to collect a strong result and a much-needed confidence boost. But regardless of the opponent, wasting chances such as the ones Lucas Bergvall and then Mohammed Kudus missed—both just outside of the six-yard box—are the recipe for disaster.

The egregious misses condemned Tottenham the rest of the way, and although they got back in the game, they were unable to overcome them. The honeymoon period is officially over, and Roberto De Zerbi is slowly turning into a villain in the eyes of many at north London.

The Italian boss has had a turbulent start of the season both on and off the pitch, and Spurs have now been eliminated from Carabao Cup contention before they’ve even secured their first Premier League win of the season.

Liverpool Player Ratings vs. Tottenham (4-2-3-1)

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili—7.9: Sensational close-range save to deny Spurs from taking an early lead. The stop gave him a confidence boost, and he made another brilliant stop in the second half. He then made a mess of an attempted clearance from a corner which resulted in Gallagher’s goal. A jaw-dropping late save kept Liverpool ahead, though.

RB: Jeremie Frimpong—7.5: A much-needed strong performance from the criticized Frimpong. Nullified Mathys Tel in dominant fashion and was constantly dragging markers away from other attackers in the final third. Despite his booking, it was a strong showing.

CB: Ronald Araújo—7.2: Another confident showing from Araújo, who’s off to a strong start at his new club. Always on the front foot trying to anticipate passes. Still, he did earn a yellow card for halting Omar Marmoush’s run after he’d been caught out trying to press high up the pitch.

CB: Joe Gomez—6.6: Made his first appearance of the term after a preseason injury. The long-time Red didn’t put a foot wrong and exited the game at half time after registering the most defensive contributions of any player on the pitch during his cameo with seven.

LB: Milos Kerkez—7.1: Made a couple of fine interventions to deny what looked like dangerous chances. Dragged a defender with him which allowed Gakpo the space he needed to double his side’s advantage. Solid from the Hungarian.

CM: Trey Nyoni—7.4: A stable and reliable presence in the middle of the park. Nyoni wasn’t incredibly flashy, but he seemingly always made the right decision, misplacing just two passes on the night.

CM: Alexis Mac Allister—8.7: At the right place at the right time to pounce on a rebound with an classy hit into the roof of the net to break the deadlock. He then assisted Liverpool’s second in an all-around man of the match performance.

RW: Rio Ngumoha—7.1: Had a bright start and was directly involved in Liverpool’s most dangerous actions of the first half, including the opener. His influence decreased as he struggled to make an impact on Destiny Udogie.

AM: James McConnell—6.4: Barely had a sniff of the ball and failed to make any noticeable impact. He exited the pitch after completing just 10 passes in an hour.

LW: Cody Gakpo—8.5: Wasn’t too involved early but he then appeared with a brilliant goal to double Liverpool’s lead. He’s playing with confidence and continues to contribute offensively every time he’s on the pitch.

ST: Lewis Koumas—6.5: The youngster did well to outmuscle Marcos Senesi to the ball, but was then denied by Martin Dúbravka in the one clear opportunity he got to leave a mark on the game. His relentless pressing gave Tottenham’s backline plenty of trouble.

SUB: Jérémy Jacquet (46’ for Gomez)—7.0: Another strong cameo from the French defender.

SUB: Dominik Szoboszlai (62’ for Nyoni)—7.5: He might’ve scored the best goal of the season already.

SUB: Ryan Gravenberch (62’ for McConnel)—6.9: Didn’t misplace a single pass during his cameo.

SUB: Bradley Barcola (72’ for Ngumoha)—6.1: The summer recruit didn’t have much time to make an impact.

SUB: Alexander Isak (86’ for Koumas)—N/A:

Subs not used: Alisson (GK), Wataru Endo Luke Chambers, Víctor Muñoz

Tottenham Player Ratings vs. Liverpool (4-2-3-1)

Conor Gallagher (right) was a threat on Tuesday. | Michael Regan/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Martin Dúbravka—5.9: Nothing he could do to stop the two goals he conceded. He did well to ensure the deficit wasn’t larger and kept his team in the game.

RB: Archie Gray—6.2: Struggled significantly against Gakpo and was on the back foot whenever he was tasked with defending one-on-one.

CB: Tosin Adarabioyo—6.2: Was impacted by Liverpool’s press but had a couple of good interventions. Lucky there’s no VAR because it looked like he deflected a cross with his hand.

CB: Marcos Senesi—6.6: Very nervy showing from the Argentine, who had a painful time defending Koumas. He was bested physically and also nearly cost his side with a near turnover inside his own box that nearly resulted in a penalty.

LB: Destiny Udogie—6.0: Should’ve had two assists as his deliveries from the left were Spurs’ main source of danger. He had a tasty battle with Ngumoha on the other end.

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur—6.4: At times overwhelmed by the speed of the game but nullified James McConnell. Got booked for a clumsy challenge on Gakpo.

CM: Lucas Bergvall—7.5: Will be disappointed he didn’t place his shot from just outside the six-yard box out of Mamardashvili’s reach. His clear miss didn’t damp an otherwise solid performance.

RW: Mohammed Kudus—6.7: A simply unforgivable miss from close distance that would’ve brought Spurs level was the main highlight of a uninspiring Kudus cameo.

AM: Conor Gallagher—7.5: Pulled the strings of his team’s most dangerous attacks and had a few highlight-reel passes as he probed all over the final third.

LW: Mthys Tel—6.3: A complete non-factor. He finished the first half with just five pass attempts and misplaced four of them. Continues to offer little in the final third.

ST: Omar Marmoush—6.4: Very erratic at times but nearly scored an equalizer late but was denied by a fantastic Mamardashvili save.

SUB: Andrew Robertson (57’ for Udogie)—6.4: Got a hero’s welcome by the Anfield crowd and added a spark down the left.

SUB: Matheus Fernandes (57’ for Bentancur)—7.5: Tottenham improved dramatically the moment Fernandes entered the contest and single-handedly quarterbacked his side’s attacks.

SUB: James Maddison (75’ for Gallagher)—6.3: Made a few attempts but none were overly threatening.

SUB: Sávio (75’ for Kudus)—6.4: Missed a dream opportunity to equalize, dragging his shot wide.

SUB: Dominic Solanke (85’ for Tel)—N/A

Subs not used: Antonín Kinský (GK), Ben Davies, Jan Paul van Hecke, Micky van de Ven

What the Ratings Tell Us

Cody Gakpo celebrating with his teammates. — Cody Gakpo (right) scored a fine goal to double Liverpool’s lead. | Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images

Cody Gakpo has fully recovered from his minor groin issue and continued his stellar start of the campaign with a nice goal to make it five goal contributions on the season already. Bradley Barcola was bought for big money, but the Dutchman is making it hard for Iraola to not include him in his strongest XI.
The duo of under fire fullbacks, Milos Kerkes and Jeremie Frimpong, were excellent on Tuesday, taking care of their defensive duties flawlessly and stretching the field in attack. The pair covered ground down the flanks on a night where they performed at the level that saw Liverpool spend big on their acquisitions a last year.
Conor Gallagher was one of the very few bright spots for Tottenham on the night. The Englishman constantly asked questions of Liverpool’s defense and scored his second goal since joining the club in January. He remains a solid alternative in an otherwise misfiring Spurs attack.
It was another disheartening showing from Mathys Tel, who continues to offer next to nothing for Tottenham in attack. With Mykhaylo Mudryk injured for a considerable time, De Zerbi could be better suited deploying Marmoush on the left rather than leading the line.

The Numbers That Explain Liverpool’s Win and Spurs’ Demise

Tottenham won the xG battle with 2.34 to Liverpool’s 1.53; however, Liverpool’s three goals came in actions that registered a combined xG of just 0.22.
Lucas Bergvall’s and Mohammed Kudus’s missed big chances had a combined xG of 0.90, which is higher than Liverpool’s first half 0.70 xG.
Spurs had more possession, shots, shots on goal, touches in the opposition box and corners. Still, they were unable to translate that superiority with goals, and it cost them dearly.
Tottenham have now failed to win in their last 18 trips to Anfield.

Statistic	Liverpool	Tottenham
Possession	44%	56%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.53	2.34
Total Shots	12	17
Shots on Target	5	6
Big Chances	2	3
Pass Accuracy	82%	87%
Fouls Committed	15	11
Corners	5	9

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