Liverpool and Manchester City booked their places in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday after winning dramatic penalty shoot-outs against Chelsea and Brighton respectively.
Liverpool defeated Chelsea 6-5 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Anfield, while Manchester City overcame Brighton 4-3 on penalties after their encounter also ended 1-1 in normal time.
At Anfield, Chelsea took the lead in the 38th minute when Morgan Rogers converted a penalty after Ryan Gravenberch brought down Moises Caicedo inside the box.
Liverpool responded within minutes, with Cody Gakpo equalising from the penalty spot after Wesley Fofana handled the ball from a corner.
Both teams pushed for a winner in the second half, but goalkeepers Mike Penders and Giorgi Mamardashvili made crucial saves to keep the contest level. Levi Colwill also produced an important block to deny Florian Wirtz.
The tie went to penalties, where both teams initially converted their attempts before Valentin Barco struck the post and Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas missed the opportunity to secure victory.
Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson scored during sudden death despite a hostile reception from the Anfield crowd. Joe Gomez then converted his penalty into the top-right corner, putting Liverpool ahead before Fofana sent his effort over the crossbar to hand the hosts a 6-5 shoot-out victory.
The result sends Liverpool into the quarter-finals after eliminating Tottenham and Chelsea in successive Carabao Cup ties. Gakpo also extended his impressive record in the competition to 11 EFL Cup goals since the start of the 2023-24 season, the highest tally by any player during that period.
Meanwhile, Manchester City edged Brighton 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, with goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli emerging as the hero by saving two spot-kicks.
Brighton took the lead through Malick Yalcouye, who finished an effort from Georginio Rutter following a well-worked attack down the right flank.
City equalised five minutes before half-time when Mateo Kovacic curled a superb finish off the left post after receiving a pass from Phil Foden.
Brighton regained the advantage just 77 seconds into the second half, with Rutter sweeping home a cutback from Jaouen Hadjam. Rutter later came close to extending the lead, but Rulli pushed his curling effort onto the crossbar.
City eventually levelled in the 72nd minute when Vitor Reis inadvertently turned Rayan Cherki’s powerful free-kick into his own net, forcing the match into a penalty shoot-out.
Both teams converted their first three penalties before Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele saved Kovacic’s attempt. Rulli kept City in contention by denying Yasin Ayari before saving Lewis Dunk’s spot-kick to secure a 4-3 shoot-out victory for the holders.
Despite making nine changes to the side that lost to Aston Villa last weekend, City relied on Cherki’s creativity throughout the encounter. The Frenchman recorded a team-high six shots, created four chances and completed 23 passes in the final third.
City’s victory extended their impressive EFL Cup run, with the holders having now won or progressed from their last eight matches in the competition, matching their best-ever run in the tournament.
Attention now turns to the Premier League, where Manchester City and Brighton are scheduled to meet again at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
