DESPITE DOM SLIP, REDS MEAN SERIOUS BUSINESS

Forward night at the office for the Reds, who breezed into the fourth round with a 4-1 win over Barnsley, with substitutes Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike lighting up the final throes of a game that had, up until the final third, been dominated by the headline-hunting Dominik Szoboszlai.

- By PAUL GORST at Anfield

More on his eventful evening shortly.With a challenge for the Premier League title now little more than a pipe dream and the Carabao Cup assignments done for, a Liverpool team who find themselves leading the top-four race don’t really have any excuses not to go all in for a ninth set of winners’ medals in the world’s oldest cup competition.

Last year’s exit at the hands of Plymouth Argyle was shrugged off almost immediately due to the impending Premier League title and the small matter of a League Cup final to come. And defeats to Manchester United and Brighton, in 2024 and 2023 respectively, were also only briefly mourned by Jurgen Klopp.

But with Champions League qualification potentially afforded to as many as five topflight sides in England this year, it would be foolish to discard this most proud of tournaments without a fight, even if it has admittedly lost much of its lustre this century.

And it shouldn't be overstated either, on the day Anfield favourite Xabi Alonso was relieved of his duties at Real Madrid, that Slot needs a strong showing in this competition himself now.