Liverpool edged Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to reach the League Cup quarter-finals, while holders Manchester City survived a scare against Brighton to book their place in the last eight on Wednesday.
At Anfield, Liverpool prevailed after a 1-1 draw in normal time, with Chelsea’s Valentin Barco hitting the post during the shoot-out before Wesley Fofana’s missed kick sealed the hosts’ progress.
Chelsea took the lead in the 40th minute when Morgan Rogers converted a penalty after Ryan Gravenberch fouled Moises Caicedo.
Liverpool responded just three minutes later, with Cody Gakpo converting from the spot after Fofana handled the ball in the penalty area.
Neither side could find a winner in normal time, sending the tie to a shoot-out.
Barco struck the post for Chelsea, while Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas blazed over a chance to seal victory. Gravenberch was then denied by Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders, but Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili kept his side alive by saving Emmanuel Emegha’s effort.
After Joe Gomez scored for Liverpool, Fofana sent his kick over the bar and into the Kop, sparking celebrations among the home supporters.
The result marked another frustrating visit to Anfield for Xabi Alonso, who suffered his third defeat in as many managerial visits to the stadium, following losses with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024 and Real Madrid in 2025.
Liverpool’s progression also kept alive their hopes of another League Cup triumph, having won the competition a record 10 times.
Man City survive Brighton scare
Manchester City also needed penalties to advance after being held to a 2-2 draw by Brighton at the Etihad Stadium.
City manager Enzo Maresca made nine changes following Saturday’s defeat at Aston Villa, which ended the club’s perfect start to the Premier League campaign. Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Gianluigi Donnarumma were among the players rested.
Brighton took the lead after 30 minutes when Malick Yalcouye steered Georginio Rutter’s effort past Geronimo Rulli from close range.
Mateo Kovacic equalised 20 minutes later with an impressive strike from 25 yards that curled into the far corner.
Brighton restored their advantage two minutes after half-time, with Rutter finishing Jaouen Hadjam’s cut-back.
City responded in the 72nd minute when Vitor Reis deflected Rayan Cherki’s free-kick into the net to make it 2-2.
Kovacic had his penalty saved by Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele in the shoot-out, but Rulli proved decisive for City, denying Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk to secure the holders’ place in the quarter-finals.
The two sides are scheduled to meet again in the Premier League at the Etihad on Saturday.
Bournemouth extend winning run
Bournemouth continued their impressive form with a convincing 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries had beaten AC Milan 3-0 in the Europa League the previous week before recording another 3-0 win against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.
Marco Rose’s side maintained their momentum against Villa, with Amine Adli, Lewis Cook and Alvaro Rodriguez finding the net to extend their winning streak to five matches in all competitions.
Palace, Sunderland record important wins
Crystal Palace eased the pressure on under-fire manager Pierre Sage with a 1-0 victory over Fulham.
Eddie Nketiah scored in the 37th minute to give Palace their first win in five matches across all competitions.
Sunderland also enjoyed a much-needed victory, defeating Brentford 3-2 at the Stadium of Light.
The Premier League strugglers secured the win through goals from Chemsdine Talbi, Tymur Tutierov and Malick Fofana, while late strikes from Callum Wilson and Igor Thiago were not enough to rescue Brentford.
Meanwhile, fourth-tier Fleetwood Town produced a stunning upset on Tuesday, defeating Premier League champions Arsenal on penalties to reach the quarter-finals.
Everton are scheduled to host Newcastle in the final fourth-round fixture on Thursday.
AFP
