Liverpool defeated Chelsea on penalties to book their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, spoiling Xabi Alonso and Jordan Henderson’s return to Anfield.
The match ended 1-1 in regulation time after Morgan Rogers gave Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot before Cody Gakpo converted a spot-kick to restore parity for Liverpool.
The encounter was eventually decided by penalties, with both sides experiencing missed opportunities. Valentin Barco struck the woodwork for Chelsea, while Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas sent his effort over the crossbar. Henderson converted his kick to keep Chelsea in contention.
Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders saved Ryan Gravenberch’s attempt, but Liverpool’s Giorgi Mamardashvili denied Emmanuel Emegha. Joe Gomez then scored for Liverpool before Wesley Fofana missed his penalty, sending the hosts through.
The victory marked Liverpool’s fifth consecutive penalty shootout win over Chelsea, as the 10-time competition winners secured a quarter-final clash against Bournemouth.
Both teams made several changes to their starting line-ups following their Premier League matches at the weekend. Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola made seven changes from the side that defeated Brighton, while Alonso made four alterations to Chelsea’s team.
Alonso, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 as a player, included former Reds captain Henderson in his starting line-up. Chelsea were without the suspended Cole Palmer and injured Joao Pedro.
The match began cautiously, with neither goalkeeper tested in the opening stages. However, the contest came alive in the 40th minute when Gravenberch fouled Moises Caicedo inside the penalty area, prompting referee Darren England to award Chelsea a penalty.
Henderson initially collected the ball amid boos from the home supporters before handing responsibility to Rogers, who calmly sent Mamardashvili the wrong way to give Chelsea the lead.
Liverpool responded three minutes later after Fofana handled the ball inside the penalty area. Gakpo stepped up and converted confidently past Penders to level the score with his 11th goal in the competition.
Chelsea suffered another setback before half-time when centre-back Maxence Lacroix sustained an injury and was replaced by Levi Colwill.
Shortly before the hour mark, Liverpool introduced Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola for Lewis Koumas and James McConnell, who had both received first-half bookings.
Liverpool increased the pressure as the match progressed, but Chelsea remained dangerous on the counter-attack. Penders produced impressive saves to deny Ronald Araujo and Barcola, while Mamardashvili made an excellent stop to keep out Marco Palestra’s effort.
Despite the opportunity to introduce Estevao to strengthen Chelsea’s attack, Alonso opted against making the substitution as neither side could find a winning goal.
With no extra time, the tie proceeded directly to penalties. The shootout remained finely balanced until Fofana sent his effort over the crossbar, confirming Liverpool’s progression to the quarter-finals at Chelsea’s expense.
