Liverpool 6 Brighton 1: Brighton undermine their own efforts at Liverpool

Liam Bridcutt twice turned the ball into his own net, the first just before half-time after Kazenga Lua Lua had levelled Martin Skrtel’s early header.

Lewis Dunk also scored an own goal, although Reds boss Kenny Dalglish will be more pleased that Andy Carroll was also on target before setting up Luis Suarez, who had already missed a penalty he had been urged to take by his boss.

It was a good day all round for Liverpool, so much so that Jamie Carragher could even have a joke with a male streaker, who entered the playing area in stoppage time.

After six barren seasons, Liverpool now have silverware in their sights.

While the financiers might place a Champions League berth at the top of their list of targets over the remaining weeks, for supporters, days out at Wembley are special.

Next Sunday, Kenny Dalglish will lead his team into a Carling Cup final confrontation with Cardiff. It could turn out to be the first leg of a double.

Dalglish could not have wished for a better start yesterday. Distracted by the presence of the excellent Carroll, who was wrestled to a standstill by Adam El-Abd, Brighton allowed Skrtel a free run at Steven Gerrard’s near-post cross. The header was firm enough to send it whistling past Peter Brezovan.

Brighton were fortunate to escape when they fell asleep at a quickly-taken free-kick, allowing Gerrard to shoot narrowly wide.

The visitors were being so comprehensively outplayed that it came as something of a surprise that they levelled, with Lua Lua – teed up by a training ground free-kick routine – expertly finding the bottom corner from 25 yards with a low shot.

The injection of confidence was clear, triggering an open contest.

Carroll nodded Gerrard’s cross over, Inigo Calderon superbly cleared off the line to deny Suarez and Gerrard’s free-kick was tipped over by Brezovan.

In return, the speedy Lua Lua flashed a shot into the side-netting after he had scorched past Glen Johnson.

After all that, Liverpool’s second goal was scrappy. Suarez produced some neat trickery to create a shooting opportunity for himself. Brezovan was equal to it but when the rebound bounced kindly for Johnson, the full-back turned his header goalwards. Sam Vokes thought he had cleared, only for the ball to strike Bridcutt at point-blank range and bounce back into the net.

Within 10 minutes of the restart, Jordan Henderson nearly turned home an off-target shot from Gerrard and Brezovan denied Downing.

When Downing cut a cross back for Carroll, the burly striker swept home first time from 10 yards. It was no more than the Geordie deserved – fit and firing, his size provides a threat no defence will find easy to contain.

The visitors’ nightmare was not over though.

First Bridcutt was in the wrong place at the wrong time again as Gerrard’s low cross bounced off him at the near post to provide Liverpool with a second own goal.

Then Dunk joined in the act. After succeeding only in kneeing the ball towards his own goal as he tried to juggle and clear, Dunk deserved to be punished for sheer stupidity – although there was some doubt as to whether it crossed the line.

After substitute Dirk Kuyt had been felled 10 minutes from time, the party atmosphere demanded Suarez take the spot-kick .

In keeping with the slapstick, he missed, only to atone from Carroll’s nod down shortly afterwards to emphatically stamp Liverpool’s presence in the last eight.

With the Carling Cup final on the horizon, Liverpool could have been forgiven for having their attentions elsewhere, but Gerrard believes their performance shows they were not distracted.

“It’s always nice to first of all get the win and then to win convincingly,” he said.

“In the end we went through the gears and got better and better as the 90 minutes went on and we deserved our goals. The important thing was to focus on this game.

“The Carling Cup final was in our minds because we have a massive game at Wembley next week but we want to go to Wembley again in the FA Cup so (yesterday) was just as important.”

There was the rare sight of Gerrard, Suarez and Carroll all starting a game together, and Gerrard hopes it is a sign of things to come.

“(Carroll) has been getting better and better in training and he was our man of the match,” he said.

“We believe that the more we play together, the more we’ll click. We’re all good players and good players like playing with other good players. We’re all on the same wavelength now.”

Carroll put the visiting defence under pressure all afternoon, contributing to the early own goal, before he got one of his own just before the hour mark.

“Every goal feels good, but it couldn’t get any better with the result as well and now we’re through to the next round,” the striker said.

“We haven’t played many games all together but we’ve been playing well in training and we put it into the game.”

Liverpool will play Stoke in the next round while Brighton must regroup in their push for the Championship play-offs.

Manager Gus Poyet said: “It’s difficult to analyse because I think it was always a matter of holding them and making sure we didn’t concede any silly goals.

“For long periods in the first half I think we were in the game, but (Liverpool’s) second goal changed it.

“If we had gone to half-time at 1-1 the message from the opposition changing room would have been very different, but then in the second half three or four of the goals were comic.”