LONDON: Liverpool eliminated Chelsea in a thrilling penalty shootout to advance to the quarter-finals of the League Cup, while defending champions Manchester City also edged past Brighton after a 2-2 draw in the fourth round early this morning.
At Anfield, Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool overcame Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea after the two teams were tied 1-1 in normal time before the hosts won 6-5 on penalties.
Chelsea first opened the scoring through a penalty kick by Morgan Rogers in the 40th minute after Ryan Gravenberch fouled Moises Caicedo.
However, Liverpool equalised three minutes later when Cody Gakpo converted a penalty kick after the ball was hit by Wesley Fofana’s hand.
The penalty shootout was full of drama as Valentin Barco missed a chance for Chelsea after his shot hit the post, while Kostas Tsimikas also failed to capitalize on the opportunity to secure Liverpool’s victory when his shot went just wide.
Gravenberch then failed to beat Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders, but Giorgi Mamardashvili saved Emmanuel Emegha’s effort to keep Liverpool in the game.
After Joe Gomez completed the kick for Liverpool, Fofana failed to put an end to Chelsea’s chances when his shot went wide of the Kop supporters’ stands, thus confirming the home side’s progress.
The defeat saw Alonso continue to fail to record a win at Anfield as a manager after also losing while coaching Bayer Leverkusen in 2024 and Real Madrid in 2025.
Liverpool, who have won the League Cup 10 times, now have the opportunity to continue the tradition of reaching the final in their new manager’s first season, as Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot have done before.
Meanwhile, Manchester City were also forced to work hard before eliminating Brighton via penalty shootout after the two teams tied 2-2 at the Etihad Stadium.
City, who made nine changes after losing to Aston Villa in the English Premier League (EPL), fell behind early when Malick Yalcouye saved Georginio Rutter’s attempt in the 30th minute.
Mateo Kovacic equalised for the home team 20 minutes later with a stunning shot from outside the penalty area that went into the corner of the goal.
Brighton were back in front two minutes into the second half when Rutter finished off Jaouen Hadjam’s low cross.
However, City came back to equalize in the 72nd minute when Rayan Cherki’s free kick was deflected by Vitor Reis before the ball went into the goal.
Kovacic missed a penalty in the shootout, but City goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli was the hero, saving Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk to ensure the defending champions progressed to the quarter-finals after a 4-3 penalty shootout victory.
In another match, Bournemouth continued their excellent run when they defeated Aston Villa 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium thanks to goals from Amine Adli, Lewis Cook and Alvaro Rodriguez, thus recording their fifth consecutive win in all competitions.
Crystal Palace eased the pressure on manager Pierre Sage when they beat Fulham 1-0 through Eddie Nketiah’s goal in the 37th minute, ending a five-match winless streak.
Sunderland also recorded a 3-2 victory over Brentford at the Stadium of Light thanks to goals from Chemsdine Talbi, Tymur Tutierov and Malick Fofana, while Callum Wilson and Igor Thiago scored for the visitors.