Liverpool is going back to Wembley. Slamming the door in the faces of Spurs amid a rare opportunity for the London side to fight for silverware, Arne Slot's side booked comfortable passage to the Carabao Cup final, impressing national media in the process.

It's hard to say what was best about the performance: was it the composure of Cody Gakpo to open the scoring and relieve any building tension, or the emphatic Mohamed Salah penalty to put Liverpool ahead on aggregate? Or perhaps the sweeping move finished off by Dominik Szoboszlai, or the way the midfield didn't give Spurs time to think all evening?

The icing on the cake was applied by Virgil van Dijk, when he rose highest to make it 4-0 on the night, and 4-1 on aggregate. Liverpool will now seek to retain its title against Newcastle next month.

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The Guardian: "Ange Postecoglou mused recently about hope and the inherent futility of it in terms of the way things have gone for Tottenham this season. Every time the manager had seen "light at the end of the tunnel", he said, it had "usually been an oncoming train".

"He was talking about the club’s injury situation, the crisis that never seemingly ends, and yet the line about the train was an appropriate way to describe Liverpool, who did not so much roll into the Carabao Cup final, their first such showpiece under Arne Slot, as steamroll their way there. They refused to countenance any other outcome. They utterly flattened Spurs.

"Who can stop Liverpool this season? It is the question on everybody’s lips as they look down from the summit of the Premier League and eye glory in the Champions League and FA Cup, too. Nobody believed Spurs would do so here, probably not the diehards who made the trip north and possibly not even the players themselves – certainly not once the reality of what they were facing dawned on them.

"It was over, really, when Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot early in the second half to give them the aggregate lead – his 26th goal of the season. At that point, Spurs were just about still in it but by now absolutely nobody believed they were. The evidence had been mapped out in graphic detail across the Anfield turf where Liverpool were quicker, sharper, hungrier. Simply remorseless."

Independent: "A few years ago, Liverpool were mocked for adopting a slogan of "this means more". In a match that surely meant more to Tottenham than them, Liverpool nevertheless won emphatically.

It sums up the realities of the two clubs. Tottenham, desperate for a first trophy since 2008, abandoned the principles of Angeball to try and protect their first-leg lead and failed. Liverpool, with far greater priorities, nonetheless booked a final date with Newcastle as Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk struck. They ran riot without really needing to.

""Reaching a final should always be special, even for this club," said Arne Slot. Yet his initial, one-word reaction, rather summed it up. "Pleasant," he smiled."

The Mirror: "Mo Salah sank to his knees, kissed the turf and soaked in another glorious night at Anfield.

"Salah scored his 26th goal of the season from the penalty spot to steer Liverpool towards Wembley and the chance of more history in the Carabao Cup. Liverpool have already won the trophy a record ten times and now they are in the hunt for more when they go head-to-head with Newcastle on March 16.

"But it is also a chance for more silverware for Salah as Liverpool are chasing glory on four fronts with their Egyptian king in the form of his life. Salah, 32, is cherishing these moments because his contract is running down and yet that seems to have only made him more focused on winning as much as he can."

The Star: "Arne Slot's machine continues to provide huge dividends to Liverpool and it might just end up providing them with football's equivalent of the jackpot.

"Tottenham were the latest team to pay the price for attempting to stop the relentless charge of Slot's men towards a quadruple.

"In one of the most predictable outcomes of the season, Liverpool overcame a 1-0 deficit with ease to seal a place in next month's Carabao Cup final against Newcastle and make sure that Spurs' long wait for a trophy goes on a little longer."