One of the most fun things about the EFL Cup is when big clubs get upended by Championship and lower-level clubs, like Everton going down to Norwich City earlier today. Watching giants get humbled by minnows is a delight to everyone not a fan of that particular giant, and it's of particular amusement to fans of giants that made it through to the next round.
The other fun thing about the EFL Cup is restricted to fans of big clubs, and it's watching your favorite club beat the pants off some poor, overmatched club from a lower league, like Everton beating Yeovil Town 4-0 in the previous round back in August.
There is just something satisfying about watching your favorite players run roughshod over helpless opposition. No one is wetting their pants over anything a Liverpool player did against Derby County, but it brought a pleasant feeling, like everything is as it should be.
Which is not to say the upsets aren't more fun. They definitely are. Even as a fan of Liverpool, I'm not blind enough to think Liverpool losing to Derby County wouldn't have been the more compelling outcome of today's match. But that's not what happened. The match itself was, for Liverpool fans, as relaxing as a stroll along the beach (except, of course, for injuries).
The weekly soap opera known as the Premier League is fun, but sometimes you just need your side to play against a team so bad your big, lumpy Estonian center back scores against them.
Liverpool's goals vs Derby pic.twitter.com/mgnCb5f61T
— MB (@MrBoywunder) September 20, 2016
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
