Fowler is now hoping to feature against Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday.

"I don't know what to expect this weekend," he said.

"Obviously I hope I'll be involved, but it's not me who decides these things. Apart from the first 30 or 40 minutes last night, I thought I did well, and all I can hope is the manager liked what he saw.

"The manager has explained the situation to me, and I totally understand the position.

"I said when I came back I just wanted to enjoy every minute I get playing for Liverpool, and I'd be happy being involved as much as I can be. That's the way I feel.

"I've always been confident I'll score goals given the chance, and it was an important one last night because it gave us the stepping stone we needed to get the results.

"Once we got the first, it calmed us all down and we played well to get to 4-1.

"It's an important competition for a lot of us because the longer we're in it the more first team opportunities we'll get."

Fowler reached another significant milestone with his goal last night, leapfrogging Kenny Dalglish to become the club's second highest scorer in the League Cup.

The former England international now has 28 goals in 33 ties in the competition but has a long way to go to catch Ian Rush on 48.

"When I scored last season to go past him in the overall list, Kenny was the first on the phone to me to say how gutted he was," joked Fowler.

"I didn't realise I'd gone past him again on another list, so I'll have upset him again. Seriously though, I know Kenny will be pleased for me and I'm sure he'll be phoning me or texting me to congratulate me again."

Boss Hails Fowler Display
Fowler is team idol - Benitez