The result was good enough to see Liverpool advance to next month's Carling Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Dalglish and club captain Steve Gerrard heaped praise on the LFC players for their heroic collective performance at Anfield. They twice came from behind to tie the score and progress to the final thanks to an aggregate score of 3-2.
The Reds were bouyant after the 1-0 away win on Jan. 11. But the two games that followed — a scoreless draw against Stoke City and Saturday's loss — prompted Dalglish to uncharacteristically criticize his players for their approach in both games. He assured supporters that would never happen again, and the players lived up to those words Wednesday.
Gerrard and Craig Bellamy scored the goals, but each player in the team had a significant role to play in the outcome.
"The players were magnificent," Dalglish said after the game. "Everything we thought was lacking on Saturday was there in abundance tonight, so they deserve great credit for the performance and result."
Gerrard told Sky Sports that he and his teammates heeded Dalglish's call for an instant response.
"It was the kind of response we all wanted. The manager had a go at us and rightly so, and it was important that we showed the fans a massive reaction."
Dalglish issued a challenge to his players that may have been greater than the one they would face on the field Wednesday. In passing the manager's test, Liverpool's players rewarded themselves (and their supporters) with their first ever trip to the new Wembley Stadium.
Review all the action from Wednesday's game in our Liverpool Live Blog.
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Photo via LiverpoolFC.tv
