Liverpool reached the final of the English League Cup by routing Tottenham 4-0 on Thursday and maintained its pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple of trophies. Goals from Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk at Anfield overturned Spurs' 1-0 lead from the semifinal first leg to seal a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Ange Postecoglou mused recently about hope and the inherent futility of it with the way that things have gone for Tottenham this season. Every time the manager had seen “light at the end of the tunnel”,