Liverpool beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Anfield, reaching the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, where they will host Bournemouth. Wesley Fofana missed the decisive spot kick in front of the Kop, having earlier conceded the penalty that gave Liverpool their equaliser.
Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead from the spot in the 40th minute after Ryan Gravenberch fouled Moises Caicedo. Three minutes later, Cody Gakpo converted a penalty of his own after Fofana raised his hand to touch a Kostas Tsimikas corner. Both penalties were needlessly conceded, and they turned a cagey first half into a lively one before the break.
The second half produced chances at both ends but no winner. Mike Penders denied Bradley Barcola and Ronald Araujo, while Giorgi Mamardashvili kept out Rogers and Marco Palestra. Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola, the former Bournemouth manager, named four youngsters in his starting line-up: Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha, James McConnell and Lewis Koumas. Chelsea, who named a strong side, could not make their greater experience count.
Chelsea also lost defender Maxence Lacroix to an apparent hamstring injury in first-half stoppage time, with Levi Colwill coming on in his place.
Shoot-out drama
The shoot-out swung back and forth. Mamardashvili denied Chelsea debutant Emmanuel Emegha, and Fofana’s penalty was scooped into the Kop. Valentin Barco also missed, hitting the post, but Penders saved from Gravenberch and Tsimikas fired over to keep the contest alive. Joe Gomez then capitalised on Emegha’s miss, and Liverpool sealed the win.
The victory gives Liverpool five straight wins in all competitions. For Chelsea, it is a second consecutive defeat, following their Premier League loss to Tottenham. Chelsea have now lost five straight penalty shoot-outs against Liverpool.
The quarter-final draw
The quarter-final ties are:
Fleetwood vs Everton/Newcastle
Manchester City vs Bradford
Crystal Palace vs Sunderland
Liverpool vs Bournemouth
The ties will take place in the week commencing December 14.
Iraola praises his young players
Iraola said the game was closely contested, with few chances for either side. “I think it was quite a level game. Very competitive, not a lot of chances for both teams. There were moments for us, moments for them,” he said.
He singled out the youngsters for praise. “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.”
On the winning run, Iraola added: “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 defeat
Alonso said the tie had been a proper cup contest. “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 felt his side had competed well at Anfield. “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.”
Alonso also praised the goalkeeper. “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.” He 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.”