West Ham out of the Carabao Cup despite taking early lead

While the summer transfer window has been great for West Ham, the start of the new season hasn’t been convincing. The Hammers went into the international break with a win each in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup alongside two defeats against Aston Villa and defending Premier League Champions Manchester City. Julen Lopetegui's side were looking much improved with each match and were expected to find a winning momentum in the Premier League after the international break in order to aim for the top six spot in the league table this season. 

However, that hasn't been the case with an underwhelming 1-1 draw with Fulham followed by huge tactical and formation changes in a massive 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the home fixture. After that, West Ham prepared to face Arne Slot's Liverpool in a huge Carabao Cup third round match at Anfield. Although Nottingham Forest recently registered a massive 1-0 win over the Reds, facing Liverpool early in the Carabao Cup was a big match for Julen Lopetegui's side, who have been lacklustre both in attack and the defence in the recent matches. 

West Ham out of the Carabao Cup despite taking early lead

However, that hasn't been the case with an underwhelming 1-1 draw with Fulham followed by huge tactical and formation changes in a massive 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the home fixture. After that, West Ham prepared to face Arne Slot's Liverpool in a huge Carabao Cup third round match at Anfield. Although Nottingham Forest recently registered a massive 1-0 win over the Reds, facing Liverpool early in the Carabao Cup was a big match for Julen Lopetegui's side, who have been lacklustre both in attack and the defence in the recent matches. 

Manager Lopetegui made a few changes to the lineup, most notably bringing in Jean-Clair Todibo and returning to the two centre-back formation, with Edson Alvarez playing in the defensive midfield role alongside new signing Carlos Soler. In the first half, West Ham showed signs of improvement with their build up play and even took the lead as Alvarez's attempt was deflected by Liverpool defender Jarrell Quansah, and found the back of the net. Despite that, the Hammers couldn't build up on their good start and a few minutes later, conceded the equalising goal as Federico Chiesa's attempt on goal came towards Diogo Jota, who scored the first goal for Arne Slot's side to make it 1-1.

Although West Ham created some good chances in the second half, it was Liverpool who took the lead with Jota's second goal after a brilliant pass from Curtis Jones near the edge of the box. With fifteen minutes remaining in the match, star forward Mohammad Salah gave Liverpool a 3-1 lead and the Hammers conceded two more goals later, with a brilliant brace from Cody Gakpo. While West Ham weren't highly expected to win this away match, the second half performance was far from encouraging for the Hammers, who will now face Brentford in the Premier League after getting eliminated from the Carabao Cup.