With a 5-1 victory over West Ham, Curtis Jones’ double and goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, and Mohamed Salah helped Liverpool advance to their record-tying 19th League Cup semifinal.

The Hammers put up less of a fight following Sunday’s depressing goalless draw against Manchester United, which marked the first occasion this season that Jurgen Klopp’s team had lost at home without scoring a goal.

David Moyes, the manager of West Ham, left the club following his team’s miserable record of one victory in the previous 56 trips to Anfield following their twenty-first failed effort to win there.

Both clubs made six changes from the previous weekend: West Ham switched three of Sunday’s starting back four, while Liverpool rested Alisson Becker and left Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench.

However, their midfield was routinely and alarmingly bypassed, so their defence was not always as problematic as it could have been.

The player best at creating space in between the lines was Harvey Elliott, who filled in for Salah on the right wing. Despite the Hammers’ five-man midfield, Liverpool was still able to find openings and pick Elliott out.

The 20-year-old had a few early attempts as a result, but the hosts dominated with their pressing game back on point, Darwin Nunez pushed out to the left and Gakpo favoured as the central forward.

The first came from young center-back Jarell Quansah’s determination to win a 50-50 with Said Benrahma as West Ham counterattacked and threatened a two-on-two.

Szoboszlai’s previous three goals were all difficult to score—two came from long range and one involved a deft handle and whip over the goalkeeper—but his 25-yard goal in the 28th minute was the best of the bunch.

The ball sailed through the air, hardly rotating, little higher than a yard above the ground, and nestled inside Alphonse Areola’s right-hand post’s side netting.

Despite West Ham’s inaction making life much easier for him and his teammates, the Hungary captain appeared to be finding his form after a month of lacklustre performances. This streak lit up the early stages of his Anfield tenure.

Before Jones took advantage of a give-and-go with the Uruguay international and, with nowhere else to go, threaded the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs from the tightest of angles for Liverpool’s 500th goal in the competition’s history, Gakpo headed a header wide and Nunez made a nice save just before halftime.

Gakpo’s low shot from the edge of the area inside Areola’s right-hand post after substitute Ibrahima Konate’s surge forward eliminated any uncertainty about the outcome, and Jarrod Bowen’s curling attempt around Caoimhin Kelleher was only a consolation on his 27th birthday.

After Alexander-Arnold’s assist, Salah scored a breakaway goal, and Jones finished the night strong with his second goal after dribbling past the defence.