Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo -- whose futures appeared in doubt this summer -- both scored as Liverpool booked their place in the Carabao Cup fourth round with a 3-1 victory over Tottenham.

With Andoni Iraola's side up 2-1 and weathering a storm towards the end as Spurs sought an equaliser, Dominik Szoboszlai came off the bench to spectacularly volley home from 25 yards and send Liverpool through to the round of 16.

Gakpo and Mac Allister were two of last season's most maligned players, but are among the best performers so far in this stuttering campaign in which Liverpool show glimpses of catching fire only for it to be doused by performances like Saturday's goalless draw with Fulham.

There was even a confidence-boosting display from second-choice goalkeeper Giorgio Mamardashvili, whose quick reactions prevented three certain goals, after his quality had been questioned -- his failure to deal with the corner from which Conor Gallager headed in was the one blemish.

Tottenham, whose only goals this season have been in this competition after putting five past Championship side Charlton, remain winless against top-flight opposition as their miserable run at Anfield was extended to one win in 31 visits and none in 15 years.

And if Mohammed Kudus, making his first start since January, continues to miss chances like the one from four yards with the score at 1-0 in the first half there is unlikely to be any improvement.

Information from PA was used in this report.