Full-time guard Jarell Quansah, a wide grin appearing on his face as the moment progressed, circled his fellow defenders and hugged each of them in turn. Finals are nothing new for Liverpool, but gaining safe passage to the first one is always special. They were belatedly put under the pump on what had long been a strangely flat night in west London, but Jurgen Klopp’s offspring passed the second of two very different tests.
The first of these was to maintain control, and Liverpool did so with suffocating conviction until Issa Diop offered Fulham an as yet unmarked route back. Klopp had seemingly taken a gamble by starting Quansah ahead of World Cup finalist Ibrahima Konaté; He knew firsthand that knockout matches required brains, brawn, and an absence of any uncomfortable uncertainty. Quansah duly delivered all that was required and more, masterfully proving his manager’s faith.
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In the 11th minute of the draw that Fulham were starting to enjoy, Quansah scored the last of Liverpool’s big, thunderous changes of play from the left wing. The praise was then shared with Luis Díaz, who read the height and speed of the ball much more intelligently than Timothy Castagne and played it in front of Fulham’s right-back. Fulham were exposed from there and if the bouncing finish came with a bit of luck, that was no problem for Quansah. Liverpool spent much of their resounding win at Bournemouth on Sunday making early passes, and here he brought his personality to bear decisively when he was recalled.
This semi-final was a disappointment for the next hour. “Tonight is a fantastic, fantastic opportunity for this great club,” Fulham’s public address announcer stressed before kick-off. Although the timing for mounting a comeback wasn’t great, surrendering visibly and audibly early took the wind out of the home field’s sails. Liverpool were next level in every aspect, physically and technically, and the purring Quansah set a tone from the back.
At one moment Quansah was anticipating a Fulham pass into the middle and was walking forward 30 yards towards the penalty area before making another pass to the left; The next step he was tackling Raúl Jiménez to get Bernd Leno’s clearance, and the centre-forward was going over the top before passing to the onrushing Willian. Standing at a massive 1.80m, Quansah is not out of the ordinary in such tackles, but his blend of timing and power to take out one of the Premier Division’s better target men was eye-catching.
Quansah on the left could copy and paste from Virgil van Dijk, who was playing one of those plays that elevated him above mere mortals. Quansah was doing a good enough job of adapting to this and Diop took advantage of Harry Wilson’s much-needed spark moment to belatedly adapt Fulham’s players and crowd to the new dimensions of the night by smelling the blood.
The flow of ball now needed to clear away and it was crucial that heads remained calm as Liverpool scraped and grabbed for the first time. When Quansah, with all the confidence of a veteran, spotted the ball over the left touchline in the second minute of extra time, his team were nearly home and dry.
Joining Quansah, Conor Bradley and substitute Bobby Clark in a hugely impressive under-21 quartet, former Fulham youth player Harvey Elliott had started the night as the local pantomime villain; His every touch was booed and mocking jeers rang out whenever he went astray. An early shot. But it quickly became clear that none of Liverpool’s bullies would do anything other than seize the moment.
It was a night of regret for Fulham, who were scratchy and reserved for the most part and only made fleeting threats until Diop’s intervention. It looked like history was being made against a weakened Liverpool.
For mid-table clubs, incidents like these highlight the fact that football is about winning trophies and chasing dreams; instead of celebrating the prize money accrued by moving up a few more places, even in an often maligned competition. top flight.
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Another team is likely to have a similar chance to turn the dial next season: perhaps Crystal Palace, Wolves or anyone else hanging around in the Premier League’s messy mid-table. Fulham have never reached the League Cup final but they were scared when it mattered here and may come to regret it.
Nothing of the kind could be directed at Quansah, who had been on the wrong foot from start to finish. “He’s just a good player, a really good player, that’s what really matters,” Klopp said afterwards, explaining that his centre-back was firmly established as part of the rotation at this point. Maybe the music will hold up favorably enough to bring him onto the stage at Wembley next month; Either way, it’s only a matter of time before there are more nights like this for Quansah.