Liverpool make their point on the pitch

Ten changes. Three goals. One very clear message. Andoni Iraola rotated heavily for Tuesday night's Carabao Cup third round tie against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, handing first starts of the season to youngsters Lewis Koumas, Trey Nyoni and James McConnell, and the response he got was exactly the kind that makes a manager's job feel worthwhile. Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring midway through the first half, Cody Gakpo doubled the lead after the break, and although Conor Gallagher pulled one back to give the scoreline a brief air of tension, Dominik Szoboszlai erased any doubt with a stoppage-time piledriver from 30 yards that left jaws on the floor and booked Liverpool's place in the fourth round.

It was the sort of evening that Iraola will have filed away with satisfaction. The young players contributed, the senior players delivered, and the team that had looked lethargic and devoid of ideas in the goalless draw with Fulham at the weekend looked nothing of the sort here. Liverpool maintained their unbeaten start under their new head coach, and Spurs trudged back down the M6 with precisely nothing to show for their efforts.

The story the national press kept coming back to

The reporters covering the match could hardly ignore the subplot running through the evening, and not one of them tried to. Paul Joyce in The Times pointed out the bitter irony for Roberto De Zerbi, noting that Spurs' manager had pursued Gakpo throughout the summer, only to see the Dutchman stay at Anfield and then punish his side. As Joyce put it, De Zerbi "had pursued Cody Gakpo all summer as he sought to bolster his squad and yet, despite splurging £320million on other signings, failed to progress a deal for the Liverpool winger."

Andy Hunter in The Guardian was similarly pointed, writing that Liverpool "toyed with De Zerbi by advancing into round four with a quality of finishing that he can only dream of" while his "toothless team" created little of substance in the areas that mattered. Richard Jolly of The Independent echoed the same sentiment, noting that had Tottenham got their way in the summer, Gakpo would have been scoring goals for them rather than against them. Lewis Steele in the Daily Mail broadened it further, reminding readers that Manchester City were also confident of signing the Dutchman at a different point during what he described as a saga that felt destined to end in an exit. Liverpool pulled the plug on all of it, and right now they look very smart for doing so.

Mac Allister and Gakpo: players reborn

Beyond the transfer intrigue, the more telling story might be what this season is revealing about two players many had quietly written off. Mac Allister is operating under the shadow of a contract stand-off, having revealed last week that he was "very sad" with the club for not putting a new deal on the table. He is responding with his feet, and Steele's observation that "this frustrated version of Mac Allister is markedly better than the sloppy, lethargic version of last term" is difficult to argue with. Two goals in two starts since that revelation is as eloquent a response as any interview could provide.

Gakpo, meanwhile, has two goals and four assists in his first five appearances of the season, and is looking every inch the player Liverpool always hoped they had signed. Hunter noted his "fine early season form" and credited him with a smart finish and an assist on the night, while Szoboszlai's wonder strike ultimately grabbed the headlines. That volley, and the ear-tap celebration that followed it, suggested a man acutely aware of the criticism his performance against Fulham attracted and very much in the mood to answer it.

What comes next for this Liverpool side

Iraola now has a genuine selection dilemma to relish heading into the fourth round, with youngsters pressing for more minutes and senior players rediscovering their best form at precisely the right moment. Szoboszlai's stoppage-time howitzer may have stolen the show, but the collective effort of a side making ten changes and still winning comfortably is the more telling detail. Spurs looked pretty in harmless areas; Liverpool looked dangerous in the ones that count. That distinction, more than any individual moment, is what Iraola will be building on.