Daniel Sturridge was back to his best for Liverpool as they advanced to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.

The Reds progressed past Tottenham Hotspur with a 2-1 victory in front of a record league cup crowd of 53,051 at Anfield, thanks to Sturridge's brace.

The opener came early in proceedings when Marko Grujic pounced on a slip from first-time Spurs starter Georges-Kevin N'Koudou on the right flank.

The Serbian midfielder drove into the area, tried his luck on goal, and saw a deflection off Kevin Wimmer fall into the path of Sturridge who dinked over Michel Vorm.

It was the striker's first goal for the Merseyside club since netting in the second round win over Burton Albion in late August.

With only the one goal separating the sides at the break, it was certainly game on early in the second lot of 45 minutes, but it was the home side who took further advantage when Sturridge doubled the lead on 64 minutes.

A series of nice little passes from the Reds resulted in a well-timed through ball from Georginio Wijnaldum which allowed Sturridge to stride confidently at Vorm before knocking it through the legs of the Dutchman for his 10th goal in his past eight league cup appearances.

Spurs were desperate to get themselves back into the encounter and were able to do so on 76 minutes when Erik Lamela was slightly pulled back by Lucas Leiva, prompting referee Jon Moss to point to the spot with no hesitation.

Vincent Janssen, who had underwhelmed prior, stepped up to the spot and emphatically finished past Simon Mignolet for just his second goal for Spurs, both which from the spot in the EFL Cup.

Mauricio Pochettino's side attempted to press hard for an equaliser but time ran out as Jurgen Klopp's Reds progressed to the final eight of the competition for the third straight year.

2016/17 EFL Cup - fourth round

Liverpool (PREM): 2 (Daniel Sturridge 9'/64')
Tottenham Hotspur (PREM): 1 (Vincent Janssen (PEN) 76')
Anfield, Liverpool - 53,051