League Cup Semi-Final: Last Time Out

Liverpool play Fulham in the League Cup Semi-Final on Wednesday, so let's take a look at the last time we played them in this competition.

Liverpool 3-0 Fulham, League Cup Fifth Round, Wednesday 13th December 2000

Written by @bobbehfirmino (Twitter)

Liverpool have played Fulham thirty three times in the Premier League since their last meeting in the league cup. In that time Liverpool have been through six managers and have won thirteen trophies, including two Champions Leagues and a Premier League. Fulham have won two, a Championship title and an Intertoto Cup.

Both sides are three games away from more silverware now, including a final at Wembley against one of Chelsea or Middlesbrough. In honour of the occasion, we will go back to the start of the millennium when Gerard Houllier was in charge, to see when we beat Fulham on our way to winning the League Cup in that treble winning season.

Houllier named a familiar lineup for the time, Sander Westerweld in goal, Markus Babbel, Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz and Jamie Carragher starting in defence, Igor Biscan, Steven Gerrard, Danny Murphy and Vladimir Smicer making up the four man midfield and Emile Heskey and Robbie Fowler in a two man partnership up top. Fulham: Taylor, Finnan, Melville, Coleman, Brevett, Davis, Goldbaek, Fernandes, Clark, Hayles, Saha.

After a quiet first half, Liverpool came out for the second in quick fashion, with Gerrard finding Smicer making a run through the Fulham defence. He took the ball around Maik Taylor and fired the ball into the side netting. The only other chance of note in normal time was a Steven Gerrard free kick which hit the woodwork and went out.

So the game went to extra time as neither team could find a breakthrough, which finally came on the stroke of half time in extra time, as Smicer collected a dodgy bounce on the muddy Anfield pitch and rushed towards the right hand side of the box, in front of the Kop. He swung the ball into Michael Owen, who was substituted on in the 73rd minute, and he headed the ball down towards the net, which was scrambled back to Owen who had a shot at the roof of Fulham’s net and put Liverpool 1-0 up, finally.

Liverpool found their second goal of the game in the second half of extra time, with Nick Barmby taking the ball into the box from the right hand side, and laid the ball off to the waiting Smicer, who had all the time in the world, but only needed one touch to slot the ball into the net and double the lead. There was a subdued celebration as Liverpool looked to be through, but not without a cherry on top. Barmby added to his assist with a great goal, robbing a Fulham player on the edge of their half, running into open space, putting the ball through a defender’s legs and spinning another and slotting the ball into the bottom left corner.

“I’m simply happy to be through because I knew that this would prove a difficult night for us,” were the words of the Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier.

Credit for photos go to Bridgeman Images and individual photographers, no copyright is intended.