Curtis Jones scores twice as Reds beat Hammers 5-1 at Anfield to progress to last four of the EFL Cup

Liverpool made a fast start, with Harvey Elliott twice going close before Szoboszlai shot narrowly wide.

But the Hungarian made no mistake with his next chance, powering a superb strike from 25 yards into the bottom-left corner to put Liverpool in front on the half-hour mark.

The hosts almost doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time, but Gakpo could only direct his header the wrong side of the post.

Liverpool maintained the same intensity in the second half, with Darwin Nunez forcing a save from the recalled Alphonse Areola.

The second goal duly arrived after Nunez found Jones with a clever pass, and the midfielder managed to squeeze his shot in from a tight angle to give Liverpool a deserved two-goal lead with 56 minutes on the clock.

Gakpo made it 3-0 on 71 minutes, receiving the ball from Ibrahima Konate following a surging run by the centre-back, before taking a touch and firing past Areola from the edge of the penalty area.

West Ham pulled a goal back six minutes later through Jarrod Bowen, who turned Jarell Quansah inside out before curling a superb right-footed finish into the far corner of the net.

But Liverpool restored their three-goal advantage with eight minutes remaining through Salah, who slotted home after being played in by a sublime through-ball from fellow substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold.