Liverpool vs. Carlisle: Score and Reaction from 2015 Capital One Cup

Wasteful and woeful would be the best way to describe Liverpool in their 3-2 penalty-shootout win over Carlisle United in the third round of the Capital One Cup.

Adam Bogdan was the hero, making three saves in the shootout to deny Carlisle what would've been a massive upset. James Milner, Emre Can and Danny Ings all scored for Liverpool.

The two sides were tied at the full-time whistle after Derek Asamoah canceled out Ings' goal in the 34th minute.

For Bleacher Report UK, the result was overshadowed by the actual performance:   

Of course, simply getting the win was particularly important for manager Brendan Rodgers, who is under immense pressure after Liverpool's poor start to the Premier League season. The Reds have taken eight points from their first six matches and sit 13th in the table.

Liverpool quashed the rumors they're lining up Carlo Ancelotti to replace Rodgers, per the Press Association (via the Guardian), but that has done little to quiet the speculation Rodgers is on the way out.

You could sense just how much Rodgers and his staff wanted to pick up a win by looking at the starting XI the Reds used to start Wednesday's match. They included Can, Milner, Martin Skrtel, Nathaniel Clyne and Alberto Moreno, who all played 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Norwich over the weekend.

Of course, by fielding such a strong XI, Rodgers raised the bar for what the club's supporters would be expecting of their side. Anything short of a dominant victory would be considered a disappointment. And needing penalties to put away Carlisle may actually do more to hurt Rodgers' cause than help it.

To put into perspective just how profligate the Reds were in attack, they had 47 total shots, only five of which were on target, per BBC Sport. The same issues that have plagued the club on the pitch over the last month or so were more than evident Wednesday night.

After a nervy first 20 minutes or so of the match, Ings scored his second goal in as many matches, finishing off an inch-perfect cross from Adam Lallana—which looked at the time as the start of something good for the Reds.

Lallana did most of the work with his delivery, but credit Ings for reading the play and getting in a position to put the cross away.

The former Burnley man is quickly becoming a fan favorite among the Reds faithful, per football journalist Melissa Reddy:

The goal should continue to swell Ings' confidence after he opened his Liverpool scoring account against Norwich.

Following that match, first-team coach Gary McAllister discussed how the 23-year-old had been putting in the effort behind the scenes in order to prove his worth at Anfield.

"If you'd seen him every day since he arrived here at the training ground, if there's anyone who deserved a goal it's Danny," McAllister said, per talkSPORT. "He's been working his socks off, so it wasn't a fluke. It was down to pure hard work that he managed to get that chance and finish it so well. He's been working hard at his game."

Squawka Football didn't question Ings' commitment to the cause:

But rather than being buoyed by the goal, Liverpool looked to shrink a bit on the pitch. In fact, Carlisle were the stronger side after going down 1-0, and their proactive mentality was rewarded by Asamoah's equaliser.

Bastien Hery did well to weave through the Liverpool defense on the counter and found Asamoah, who sneaked his first-time shot just under Bogdan at the near post.

Dejan Lovren will shoulder much of the blame for the goal as he offered little resistance to Hery as the Frenchman ran at goal. In addition to giving Hery a wide berth, Lovren reacted poorly, lunging to his left and opening up even more space for the 23-year-old.

Anfield Hub hopes this is the last time Lovren and Skrtel are partnered together in the center of the defense:

As Bleacher Report UK joked, you could already imagine the reaction of Liverpool supporters following the goal:

Any positivity the Reds showed before Asamoah's equaliser all but evaporated after it. James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo thought there was a visible change in mentality from the players:

In an effort to turn things around in the second half, Rodgers inserted Philippe Coutinho into the game in the 64th minute. The Brazilian replaced Joe Allen, which should have—in theory—provided more creativity in the attack.

But Coutinho's presence did little to turn the tide of the match. Liverpool looked rudderless in the center of midfield, which in turn prevented them from maintaining any sort of sustained advantage.

For Dominic King of the Daily Mail, Ings was the only Reds player offering a positive contribution to the team:

The Anfield Wrap's Jim Boardman summed up the entirety of the first 120 minutes well:

It would be one thing if Liverpool had dictated the run of play and completely bullied Carlisle only for their effort to not show up in the scoreline. Instead, they were getting outclassed by a club that currently sits 10th in the League Two table.

Liverpool will play Bournemouth in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup, which could be an extremely tricky fixture, especially on the basis of Wednesday night.

The larger concern, however, will be whether the club improves soon under Rodgers. He probably still has some time to turn things around, but if the Reds remain listless on the pitch and firmly in the middle of the Premier League table, ownership could opt to go in a different direction around the new year, as it did with Roy Hodgson in January 2011.