Liverpool's EFL Cup Win Highlights Player Concerns

Liverpool marched into the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, but the 2-0 win over Tottenham at Anfield told a far more uncomfortable story for a couple of big-name squad players.

Andoni Iraola ripped up his weekend team sheet, making 10 changes from the side that drew with Fulham. This was the classic cup-night audition: fringe players, academy hopefuls, and those in need of a reminder that they still belong at this level.

Some took the chance. Some very clearly did not.

Frimpong Targeted and Exposed

Trey Nyoni, James McConnell and Lewis Koumas were handed rare starts, a statement in itself about where Iraola wants to take this Liverpool side. Jeremie Frimpong also came in at right-back, a position that has become a running debate on Merseyside ever since Trent Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid.

Iraola wants his full-backs to attack. To surge, to create, to stretch the pitch. Frimpong, signed from Bayer Leverkusen for £30m in the summer of 2025, was supposed to be tailor-made for that role.

He didn’t look it here.

Tottenham went after him from the first whistle. They loaded his flank with pace and direct running, and he struggled to live with it. Mathys Tel drove at him. Mohammed Kudus drifted into his zone. Omar Marmoush joined in. For long spells, Liverpool’s right side felt like an open invitation.

Going forward, Frimpong offered almost nothing of note. No telling overlaps, no real incision. At the back, he never looked secure. Over the course of 90 minutes, he looked more like a weak link than a weapon.

It’s not a one-off either. Frimpong has yet to convince in a red shirt, and sections of the fanbase have not been shy in their criticism across this season and last. On current evidence, it is obvious who Iraola trusts more.

Ronald Araujo is the clear first-choice right-back. Conor Bradley is working his way back from injury and is expected to return before long. Frimpong, for all the investment and expectation, is nowhere near undroppable.

For a £30m signing at a club with Liverpool’s ambitions, that is a serious problem. Inside the dressing room and in the stands, he is now widely viewed as one of the weaker members of the squad. If Liverpool still haven’t found anyone who can come close to matching Alexander-Arnold’s influence on that flank, the conclusion almost writes itself: this team still needs a new starting right-back.

If Frimpong wants to be part of that future, he has a lot of work to do.

Endo Frozen Out

If Frimpong’s night was worrying, Wataru Endo’s was worse – and he didn’t even step onto the pitch.

The 33-year-old Japan international was already left out of Liverpool’s 25-man Champions League squad last week, alongside Federico Chiesa. McConnell and Nyoni, teenagers by comparison, were both registered ahead of him.

Tuesday felt like the perfect chance to throw Endo a lifeline. Ten changes to the XI. A home cup tie. Senior players rested. Youngsters trusted. And yet, when the team sheet dropped, his name was not among the starters.

He stayed on the bench. Again.

Endo has been an unused substitute in all four of Liverpool’s Premier League matches this season. He impressed at centre-back against Como in pre-season, showing his versatility and composure, but has not been used there since. If he couldn’t get minutes in a heavily rotated cup side, when exactly is he going to play?

Iraola did not hide from the issue when asked recently. He laid out the reality in blunt terms.

“The problem is, in front of him in his position, I have a lot of players,” he said. “He’s competing against a lot of players because we are also giving minutes to Trey (Nyoni), Ryan (Gravenberch), Alexis (Mac Allister), Dom (Szoboszlai), players that I am selecting right now. But Wata is definitely a player that I like and for sure he will have his moments.”

The words were polite. The team selection was ruthless.

On Tuesday, Iraola picked 22-year-old McConnell and 19-year-old Nyoni in midfield ahead of Endo, even with Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai starting on the bench. Youth and dynamism won out. Experience sat and watched.

If you can’t get on the pitch in a game like this, with mass rotation and chances handed to teenagers, the message is hard to ignore. Endo is not part of the core plan.

His contract expires at the end of the season. With so many players ahead of him and his Champions League omission already underlining his status, Liverpool are staring at their last realistic opportunity to recoup a fee in January.

Iraola clearly doesn’t fancy him as a meaningful option. Endo needs minutes, rhythm, and a role. Liverpool need space in a crowded midfield and clarity in their squad planning.

All roads point in one direction: a clean break in a few months’ time, as this new-look Liverpool continues to move on without him.