Liverpool took a narrow lead in their Carabao Cup semi-final with Fulham.
The visitors took an early first-half lead against the run of play as Willian seized on a defensive error before squeezing a shot past Caoimhin Kelleher.
But Jurgen Klopp’s side produced a leveller after the interval when Curtis Jones’ long-range attempt was deflected home off Tosin Adarabioyo’s back.
Within three minutes, the Reds were finally ahead as substitutes Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo combined for the latter to sweep a tidy finish.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Bradley shines in the spotlight
Conor Bradley faced a thankless task in covering for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Entrusting him to fill the void of Liverpool’s vice-captain and homegrown hero at right-back, however, appears to be a shrewd move on Jurgen Klopp’s part.
Still only 20, a full Northern Ireland international and voted Player of the Year on loan at Bolton last season, his credentials were already solid enough.
But Bradley came of age during Wednesday’s high-stakes Carabao Cup semi-final encounter against a Fulham team which robustly gave no quarter.
An early first-half slip which led to the visitors’ opener had the potential to set the tone for the County Tyrone native’s baptism of fire as a default starter.
His recovery soon had the Anfield crowd roaring in approval by routinely stopping Andreas Pereira and Willian in one-v-ones down the right side.
Were it not for Bernd Leno’s sharp reflexes at point-blank range, Bradley’s night would have ended with an assist after teeing up Darwin Nunez late on.
Clearly the potential has always been there but he has the spotlight to match.
…but Gravenberch still struggles
Liverpool’s midfield refresh has been a subject of intense debate this season.
Yet the denouement on whether the new-look engine room represents an upgrade is firmly on-hold due to disruption leading to an unsettled line-up.
Injuries and international commitments forced Klopp into another reshuffle as Ryan Gravenberch visibly struggled against the Cottagers for the most part.
The Dutchman’s formative months in a red shirt has been hit and miss to say the least, with his displays in the Europa League not replicated elsewhere.
What flashes Gravenberch showed in this last-four encounter were offset by the game largely passing him by as Marco Silva’s side tried to turn the screw.
An adjustment period was likely to be required in transitioning to a different way of playing after his spells in both the Eredivise and the Bundesliga.
Still, it was little surprise that Klopp elected to hook Gravenberch midway through the second half in favour of injecting Nunez’s element of chaos.
Once the Liverpool manager has a full compliment of options again at his disposal, the Anfield faithful may finally see the player he had long coveted.
Anfield witnesses history again
A narrow lead with a second-half comeback may not be the way that Liverpool hoped to conclude this tie but it did lead to a slice of history.
Cody Gakpo’s introduction alongside Nunez helped turn the tide of this first-leg affair while also etching his name firmly into the Anfield record books.
The forward’s ninth goal of the season clinched a second-half fightback and extended his prolific streak in the Carabao Cup to scoring in each round.
Not since Ian Rush in the immortal treble-winning campaign of 1983/84 has a Liverpool player found the target in four consecutive League Cup outings.
Gakpo finds himself in further illustrious company if replays are discounted from that feat with Kenny Dalglish in 1980/81 the last to achieve like-for-like.
His sweeping finish in front of The Kop, just three minutes after Curtis Jones’ leveller, could easily have been plucked from the dynamic duo’s highlights reel.
Given the embarrassment of riches in Klopp’s Anfield tenure, such esteemed milestones are sometimes taken for granted but still deserve to be savoured.