Gunners run riot at Anfield
Wenger can now lock horns with Martin Jol in the next round
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Tuesday, 09, Jan 2007 11:06
Following their weekend FA Cup win at Anfield, Arsenal repeated the trick with a thumping 6-3 victory to dump Liverpool out of the Carling Cup at the quarter-final stage.
Previously out-of-sorts Brazilian Julio Baptista hit four to secure Arsene Wenger's side a last-four clash with north London neighbours Tottenham as the home team suffered a depressing evening.
There had been much talk from the Merseysiders about taking revenge on the Gunners for Saturday's reverse, but that never seemed likely as Arsenal seized the lead early against a mostly second-string line-up.
Jeremie Aliadiere's scrambled finish from Kolo Toure's pass on 27 minutes opened the scoring, and although Robbie Fowler quickly levelled, the Reds found themselves out of the game by the interval.
Baptista wrapped a free-kick round the wall and into the corner of Jerzy Dudek's net to re-establish the advantage, before joining Alex Song Billong in beating the Pole with first-half injury-time strikes to leave the Kop reeling at a 4-1 scoreline.
The former Real Madrid man could afford to miss a penalty before finally completing his hat-trick with a powerful low shot just before the hour.
A brief Liverpool rally was always going to prove too little, too late and, although a beautifully-struck volley from Steven Gerrard and a Sami Hyypia header cut the gap to just two goals, Baptista rounded off his evening with a routine finish after Aliadiere had skipped beyond the hapless Gabriel Paletta once more.