Jota double fires Liverpool into Carabao final

Diogo Jota fired Liverpool into the final of the Carabao Cup as they beat Arsenal 2-0 on aggregate.

Arsenal had held on for a resilient goalless draw with 10 men in the first leg seven days ago, but Diogo Jota broke their resistance on 19 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, and added a second with 13 minutes to go to seal the victory.

The Gunners saw another player dismissed as Thomas Partey, back early from the Africa Cup of Nations after Ghana’s surprise exit, was sent off in the 90th minute for two bookings having only come on as a substitute 16 minutes earlier.

Liverpool will face Chelsea in the final at Wembley on Sunday, February 27, taking Jurgen Klopp closer to a first domestic trophy with the club.

Brilliant Jota fires Liverpool into the final

Arsenal started brilliantly – with Alexandre Lacazette hitting the crossbar from an early free-kick – but a warning shot from Liverpool changed the course of the game. Joel Matip was alert to poke in from Fabinho’s header on a corner, but was flagged offside.

It seemed to make Arsenal a little jittery, and six minutes later Jota brilliantly took advantage as he picked up a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold before cutting inside Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White, then finding the bottom corner with a slightly scuffed finish past the stretched arm of Aaron Ramsdale.

And with 13 minutes to go it was Jota again who sealed the game. Alexander-Arnold was the man with the pass again as he lifted one over the top into his run, and the Portuguese forward raced through to dink over Ramsdale. Initially flagged offside, the goal was eventually given by VAR.

Partey’s day to forget

It was a couple of days to forget for Partey. After Ghana had crashed out of AFCON, the midfielder was rushed back by Arsenal and, despite only landing back in London at 12pm on the day of the game, was named on the bench by Mikel Arteta.

Introduced in the second half by Mikel Arteta in a bid to salvage the game, Partey instead picked up two quick yellow cards, leading to an early bath. It was the third time in four games Arsenal have finished with 10 men.

“He’s a big loss and we have to learn from that,” said Arteta. “We played the last three games with 10 men and against the top sides you can’t do that. It becomes a real challenge and it’s not what we need with the amount of players we have out not to have him.

“[The red cards] have happened for different reasons. We have to eradicate it completely and stay playing with 11 players.”

Klopp delighted to reach final

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp: “We’re over the moon. It’s a difficult game, a difficult time generally, we just have to get through it. We try everything we can, and what the boys did tonight against a really strong Arsenal side was really exceptional.

“We scored two wonderful goals, Jota was on fire, but the passes too. I don’t think a lot of people in the stadium saw Diogo in that position for the second goal, but Trent did which was helpful and he finished it off – absolutely outstanding.

“We were completely convinced when he arrived he’d help us massively. There’s so many things before you sign a player, nowadays you can watch 100 games, we were really confident but since he’s been here he’s made another step. He’s turned into a world-class striker, and that’s really helpful for us.”

When is the Carabao Cup final?

Liverpool will face Chelsea in the final of the Carabao Cup at Wembley on Sunday, February 27.

What’s next for Arsenal and Liverpool?

Both sides are back in Premier League action on Sunday at 2pm. Arsenal host Burnley, while Liverpool travel to Crystal Palace for the first part of Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 1pm.