Liverpool beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Anfield, sending them into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, where they will host Bournemouth. Chelsea’s Wesley Fofana missed the decisive spot kick, scooping his effort into the Kop.
Fofana’s handball had gifted Liverpool their equaliser from the spot. Morgan Rogers gave Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot in the 40th minute after Ryan Gravenberch fouled Moises Caicedo as he ran away from goal. Three minutes later, Cody Gakpo levelled from the spot after Fofana raised his hand to a corner from Kostas Tsimikas. Both penalties were needlessly conceded.
The shoot-out swung on a series of misses. Giorgi Mamardashvili saved from Chelsea debutant Emmanuel Emegha, and substitute Valentin Barco hit the post. Mike Penders then denied Gravenberch, and Tsimikas fired over. Joe Gomez capitalised on Emegha’s miss, and Fofana’s final attempt went over the bar.
The second half produced chances at both ends. Penders saved from substitute Bradley Barcola and Ronald Araujo, while Mamardashvili denied Rogers and Chelsea substitute Marco Palestra. Neither side could find the winner in normal time or extra time, and the game went to a shoot-out.
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola, a former Bournemouth manager, named four young players in his starting line-up: Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha, James McConnell and Lewis Koumas. Chelsea, who named a strong team, could not make their greater experience count. The Blues also lost defender Maxence Lacroix to an apparent hamstring injury in the first half.
The win gives Liverpool five successive victories in all competitions. For Chelsea, it is a second straight defeat following their Premier League loss to Spurs. Chelsea have now lost five consecutive penalty shoot-outs against Liverpool.
Quarter-final draw
Ties will take place in the week commencing 14 December.
Fleetwood vs Everton or Newcastle
Manchester City vs Bradford
Crystal Palace vs Sunderland
Liverpool vs Bournemouth
Iraola praises his young side
Iraola said the game was competitive, with few chances for either side. “There were moments for us, moments for them,” he said. “We are really happy with the performances of a lot of the players and obviously happy to finish on the right end of the penalty shoot-out because it gave us the chance to be in the draw.”
On his young starters, Iraola said: “I think they did a good job. I think they deserved the right to play because they were also very good against Spurs in the last round. We told them, they are first-team players and we are confident if they have to play. They showed us they had a very good level and they helped us a lot.”
Iraola also pointed to his side’s home form. “It’s three in a row at home which is very important. We were struggling a little bit at home. Now we have the confidence of winning three in a row and now we have the biggest one against Arsenal on Sunday.”
Alonso reflects on the defeat
Alonso felt the result was harsh on his side but praised their performance. “That’s it with penalties, someone will go home feeling it was harsh to go out. But we saw a proper cup game, intense and really close. Then penalties are open for everything.”
He added: “We performed with enough level to compete at Anfield. After scoring the first goal we unluckily conceded the penalty. The game was really close from both sides. It was a solid performance. We didn’t concede many chances so he didn’t have to work a lot but he [Mike Penders] was quite stable and solid. That was very important.”
Alonso concluded: “I saw a team competing and showing a good level. This is the least important competition for us and now the focus is on the Premier League.”
Key moments at Anfield
40: Rogers scores from the spot after Gravenberch’s foul on Caicedo.
43: Gakpo levels from the spot after Fofana’s handball.
45+1: Lacroix is replaced by Levi Colwill after appearing to pull his hamstring.
48: Rogers threatens a second, but Mamardashvili saves.
61: Penders makes a point-blank save from Araujo.
65: Penders denies Barcola.
68: Emegha makes his Chelsea debut as a substitute.
78: Mamardashvili stops Palestra’s low shot after good work from Rogers.
80: Wirtz fails to convert from close range.
Shoot-out: Fofana’s skied effort gives Liverpool the win.