Liverpool: 6 Reasons Why Kenny Dalglish's Reds Beat Manchester City to Wembley

Liverpool booked their spot in the League Cup final after overcoming Manchester City at Anfield with a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Not since 1996 have Liverpool appeared at Wembley in a domestic cup final, but they will be going back to "Liverpool South" as it used to be known, after knocking out the current Premier League leaders after a 2-2 second leg draw.

Here are six reasons why Kenny Dalglish's men were able to beat City and line up a Cup Final clash against Cardiff City at the end of February.

Craig Bellamy's All-Around Performance

Craig Bellamy—a free transfer from Manchester City in the summer—scored the goal to put Liverpool through to the final of the League Cup at the expense of his former side.

It wasn't just his tie-winning goal which made Bellamy stand out however; it was his all-around endeavour and never-say-die attitude that inspired those around him to work equally hard and never give the City back line a moment's peace.

From the first minute he was a constant menace to City's centre-backs with his runs into the spaces behind them and pressurising them on the ball.

Whether it was the three centre-backs in the first half or the two in the second, Bellamy had the measure of them, and his movement and pace gave City, with the best defence in the Premier League this season, a torrid evening.

Bellamy has emerged into a key performer for Liverpool, and his well-taken strike was the icing on the cake for a brilliant performance.

Defensive Organisation and Protection in Central Areas

Samir Nasri, David Silva and Edin Dzeko started the game as an attacking trio for Manchester City as they went looking for the goals they needed to turn the League Cup semifinal around.

City had large spells of possession at Anfield, but did those talented three players create many opportunities for their team?

Not at all.

Nor did substitutes Adam Johnson and Sergio Aguero when they entered the match in the second half.

A big reason for that was the excellent shape that Liverpool had in defence and the hard work and protection afforded the centre of defence by Charlie Adam and, in particular, Steven Gerrard.

City lacked any kind of penetration in wide areas for much of the game—the time they did get Aleksander Kolarov away down the left, he provided a terrific cross which led to their second goal—and were constantly turned into the middle where the play was more congested and Gerrard's exertions frequently meant that the ball ended back with a Red shirt sooner rather than later.

Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel were right on top of their game with headers, tackles and interceptions aplenty made between them in perfect timing—save for one error of judgement from the Dane that allowed Dzeko to net from close range.

Charlie Adam has had his critics this season—here included—for his recent performances, especially in his own defensive third, but even with the few silly tackles he made to give away needless free kicks, he was hard-working and contributed well to shutting down City as they looked to create shooting opportunities.

Liverpool were excellent in defence despite the two goals conceded; the fact that they limited City to just six shots during the whole game speaks volumes for the effort put into the game by the Reds players, a stark contrast to the previous game against Bolton.

Hard-Working Midfield

In addition the defensive organisation shown by Liverpool, the whole midfield was extremely hard-working and pressured Manchester City on the ball high up the pitch.

Dirk Kuyt and Stewart Downing on the flanks both put in commendable performances off the ball, tracking back to double up on City's raids down the flanks and getting forward into the spaces behind City's wing-backs whenever possible.

Jordan Henderson had a difficult job to do, trying to break beyond Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry while also closing them down to prevent them starting any meaningful attacks.

As previously mentioned, Steven Gerrard and Charlie Adam went through an awful lot of work in front of the Reds' back four, but also looked to launch attacking opportunities whenever possible with quick passes out wide.

This midfield work rate must be the standard for every Premier League fixture from here until the end of the season.

Joleon Lescott and Stefan Savic...Cheers, Lads

Manchester City started the game with a back line of three central defenders: Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott on either side of young Montenegran Stefan Savic.

Fair to say, from kickoff until he was substituted at half-time, Savic had an absolute 'mare.

Craig Bellamy ran him ragged, turning inside him, closing him down on the ball and generally making his life miserable out on the Anfield pitch.

As it happens, Savic didn't eventually contribute to any goal scored by Liverpool—but there can be absolutely no doubting that he infused the Anfield crowd with belief and hope that goals were there for the taking.

In the second half it was Lescott who turned provider for Liverpool with a series of misplaced passes.

One wildly skewed clearance went into touch when Lescott was under no pressure at all—and that mistake did lead to a Liverpool goal: Bellamy's equaliser that eventually sent Liverpool through to the final.

Attacking Mentality from the First Whistle

Leading 1-0 from the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, Liverpool only required a draw to progress to the League Cup final.

The temptation could certainly have been for Kenny Dalglish to send out his troops to play for the draw, but instead the Reds opted for a brave and adventurous style of play that saw them be able to come back from behind not just once but twice.

Manchester City had plenty of possession at times but the Reds always looked to attack whenever they won back the ball.

Dalglish's side arguably deserved to win the game outright having created several clear-cut chances, but in the end the attacking mentality they employed and carried through until the end of the match was enough to see them to Wembley anyway.

Improved Performances from Wide Players

Part of Liverpool's failure to take full points from certain recent Premier League games can be attributed to inconsistent, or even downright poor, performances from whichever players had been selected to play on either flank.

Stewart Downing, Maxi Rodriguez and Dirk Kuyt have all been in and out of Kenny Dalglish's first 11 this season, while Jordan Henderson has flitted between the centre of the park and the right side.

The game against Manchester City in the League Cup semifinal saw vastly improved performances from Downing on the left and Kuyt on the right.

They were far from on top form still, and could certainly have scored at least one goal each during the course of the game, but nevertheless their performances were much better from both a collective and individual perspective.

More of the same will be required in the big games to come for Liverpool.