Liverpool advanced to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a dramatic 6-5 penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea after a 1-1 draw at Anfield on Wednesday evening. The win was secured when Joe Gomez converted his spot-kick and Wesley Fofana ballooned his effort over the bar.
Morgan Rogers and Cody Gakpo both scored penalties in quick succession shortly before the interval, with both teams missing twice in the shoot-out before Gomez's decisive strike.
Shootout drama at Anfield
The result means Andoni Iraola's side, who have been drawn at home to Bournemouth in the quarter-finals, are still challenging on all four fronts and have now won five games in succession.
The ECHO was in attendance at Anfield and here we run the rule over the performances of the Liverpool players.
Defensive solidity and attacking spark
Giorgi Mamardashvili earned an 8/10 rating. He didn't have much to do in the first half other than pick the ball out of the net for Chelsea's penalty, but made a decent stop from Rogers in the second half before an excellent save denied Palestra and then denied Emegha in the shoot-out with Chelsea on the verge of victory.
Joe Gomez, also rated 8/10, started at right-back and imposed himself early with a couple of strong duel victories, though he began to have issues with the dangerous Rogers. He improved after the break, delivered a good cross for an Araujo chance, and tucked his penalty away nicely.
Ronald Araujo switched to his more accustomed centre-back position and was defensively solid, though his distribution was not always on point in the first half. He missed a good chance when heading at Penders after the interval.
Midfield struggles and substitutes
Virgil van Dijk made a good interception with Welbeck waiting to run on to a through ball before the interval and looked to push Liverpool forward before being substituted. Kostas Tsimikas showed plenty of effort down the left going forward, though the quality of his final ball was lacking in the first half, and he had a poor effort in the shoot-out.
Ryan Gravenberch had an extremely quiet opening half-hour, encapsulated with a daft challenge on Caicedo to concede the Chelsea penalty. He missed his spot-kick. Trey Nyoni's aggressive pressing helped bring Liverpool forward and his good engine kept the Reds ticking before he was substituted.
Lewis Koumas started on the right wing but was unable to make much impact as Liverpool struggled to click going forward, and he was booked and substituted. James McConnell, operating as a more defensive-minded number 10, couldn't quite force his way into the game despite plenty of effort, and he was also booked and substituted.
Rio Ngumoha sparked the game into life with one dazzling run in the first half and became more of a threat after the interval as the Reds began utilising the youngster more frequently. Cody Gakpo spent most of the first half nearly getting on the end of things playing down the middle until converting the spot kick to level, and he tested Penders from range, though he was frustrating overall.
Among the substitutes, Bradley Barcola prompted a strong save from Penders with a shot from the edge of the area, Florian Wirtz couldn't quite force home a late chance in a fitful display, and Jeremy Jacquet helped Liverpool resist a late Chelsea surge. Alexis Mac Allister and Alexander Isak were both introduced with the shoot-out in mind.
