Coach Jürgen Klopp's brilliant decision that made Liverpool vs Fulham win possible

Liverpool and Fulham played the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals on Wednesday. The Reds had reached this stage after beating Leicester City 3-1, Bournemouth 2-1 and West Ham United 5-1, while the Cottagers eliminated Norwich City (2-1), Ipswich Town (3-1) and Everton (penalty shoot-out victory, after a 1-1 draw).

Both teams knew that this was a decisive match because they are one step away from the final, where they will face the winner of the duel between Chelsea and Middlesbrough. That is why coaches Jurgen Klopp and Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva decided to field their best players, despite the fact that in just a few days The Cottagers will have to play in the Premier League.

The visitors started better, as they were able to make the manager's strategy a reality and nullified their opponents' strengths. This allowed them not only to prevent The Reds from comfortably controlling the ball and creating dangerous chances, but also to get ahead on the field and score the opener: after 19 minutes Willian received a drilled cross into the box, dribbled past a defender and shot with his right foot.

After the break, Jürgen Klopp gave his players 10 minutes to try to improve their performance, but as they failed to do so he made a decision that was key to the future of the match. He brought in Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo to replace Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott, and they changed everything. Curtis Jones netted the leveller and, a few minutes later, Nuñez assisted Gakpo to complete the comeback.

Now they have the advantage

With the 2-1 win at Anfield Road, Liverpool will be able to face the second leg with more calm, knowing that a draw will be enough to advance to the Carabao Cup final. But first they will face Bournemouth in the Premier League, where they will need to keep their lead in the standings.