Liverpool secured their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Chelsea at Anfield on Wednesday night, setting up a home tie against Bournemouth.
The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes, with goals from Morgan Rogers and Cody Gakpo just before half-time, before the Reds prevailed on spot kicks against Xabi Alonso's side.
National Media Reaction
The Times' Paul Joyce noted that Xabi Alonso suffered defeat on his first return to Anfield as a coach with Bayer Leverkusen, and again with Real Madrid, with no third time lucky on Wednesday evening. Joyce wrote that Liverpool's momentum is building under Andoni Iraola, adding that even Joe Gomez scored in the shoot-out.
On The Mirror's pages, Samuel Meade highlighted that Liverpool have now enjoyed five wins on the bounce dating back to their Manchester City loss. Meade noted that Iraola's side have shown all sides to them, quashing Brighton's momentum, overcoming Brentford away, and showcasing their powers of recovery against Villarreal in the Champions League.
Penalty Drama at Anfield
Lewis Steele of the Daily Mail described the night as a "madcap" affair, with Joe Gomez, a player yet to score a goal in professional football despite this being his 13th season, dispatching a penalty with confidence. Steele also noted that Jordan Henderson received boos from the Kop on his return to Anfield, but slotted his penalty home.
Liverpool's No 2 goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili took the plaudits for a fine save, followed by a horrendous skied attempt from Wesley Fofana, whose effort went high into the Kop.
Alonso's Unhappy Homecoming
On The Independent's pages, Richard Jolly pointed out that Chelsea have had five shootouts against Liverpool and lost them all, starting in the 2007 Champions League semi-finals, when Alonso was among the Liverpool scorers. Alonso, who scored in the 2005 Champions League final for Liverpool, experienced an unhappy homecoming on Merseyside.
In the ECHO's verdict, it was noted that Fofana conceded the penalty that gave Liverpool their equaliser before shanking the all-important spot kick, while Gomez revealed he had never taken a penalty in his career. Iraola is slowly restoring personality to the squad, and they no longer wilt in the face of adversity.
