Lewis Koumas of Liverpool during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on September 15, 2026 in Liverpool, England.
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Lewis Koumas stood out against Spurs
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola praised his young fringe players for their contribution to the 3-1 Carabao Cup third-round win over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Basque said the energy of man-of-the-match Lewis Koumas, son of former Tranmere and West Brom midfielder Jason, was "contagious".
Koumas, in only his fifth appearance, was deployed as centre-forward with Alexander Isak rested on the bench and the 20-year-old was a constant menace for the Spurs defence in his 86 minutes.
But there were also solid performances for 22-year-old James McConnell, in his 14th game, fellow midfielder Trey Nyoni, 19, and winger Rio Ngumoha.
"I was happy for them. Different positions, different demands but I think the best thing is they were dead when I subbed them," said Iraola, who made 10 changes from Saturday's flat goalless draw against Fulham.
"Trey was cramping, Rio couldn’t have run a lot more. McConnell the same. When this happens, it’s because you’ve given us what you’ve got.
"They have been very athletic, willingness to win their duels, making their presence felt. I was happy for them."
On Koumas he added: "I see him training every day. He knows very clearly what he needs to do, what the team needs and also the energy he shows is contagious for the rest.
"When you see the runs up front, giving everything, you are kind of forced to go behind and use the same intensity levels. I am very happy for him."
A star-studded bench featured new signings Bradley Barcola, Victor Munoz and Jeremy Jacquet – a £220 million (€257m) trio – Alisson Becker and Dominik Szoboszlai.
And it needed the intervention of the latter with a stunning strike in added time once Conor Gallagher pulled a goal back, after Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo had put the hosts 2-0 up.
"It’s true that I made a lot of changes but I think I needed to do it because we could see the other day that we lacked a bit of energy the other day and we needed fresh legs," Iraola said.
"I am happy because all the players have given us intensity and aggressiveness. I think we have been good during lots of parts of the game and also happy because we deserved to win the game and earned the right to be in the next round."
Max Dowman of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's third goal with Noni Madueke during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Ipswich Town and Arsenal at Portman Road on September 15, 2026 in Ipswich, England.
Max Dowman of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's third goal with Noni Madueke during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Ipswich Town and Arsenal at Portman Road on September 15, 2026 in Ipswich, England.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta acknowledged it is a joy to work with Arsenal's "incredible" 16-year-old Max Dowman after he scored twice to inspire a 4-2 win at Ipswich.
Dowman marked his first appearance of the season for the Premier League champions with a superb solo goal after seven minutes before he slotted into the bottom corner at the start of the second half to cap a wonderful individual display.
It made Dowman only the second 16-year-old, after Wayne Rooney for Everton in 2002, to score a brace for a Premier League club and Arteta admitted it would be hard to keep the hype down after this latest star showing.
"A joy to have him, Marli (Salmon) as well," Arteta said.
"Max, yeah, it’s inevitable to talk about him when he scores and he creates the moments that he has created tonight. It’s normal.
"He can deliver those actions effortlessly, I would say. That’s his biggest quality and defensively, his application, his capacity as well to sustain the actions, which is not easy, he’s 16 years old and he can create moments but consistently to go through the game.
"With the demands that we put in them, to be able to do that is extremely difficult and he’s coping better and better and better.
"He’s an unbelievable player because of the character that he has and how much he loves to play at the biggest stage."
Arteta added: "It's not easy (to contain the hype), I understand, but what we have to do is look after him. He’s 16 years old. You don’t see that in this league.
"In other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context, but in this league, with the demands that the league [has], the players and everything put on you, we really need to make sure every time we throw him in, he’s in the right context with the right preparation.
"The probability is probably extremely low because you don’t see the players with the capacity to handle just the physicality of the game… but he’s doing it and he’s doing it really well every time there’s a chance.
"It’s a lot of things that you need to grow, but at 16 to already do what he does, it’s just incredible."
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