Liverpool, Man City Reach League Cup Quarter-Finals

Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to reach the League Cup quarter-finals, while holders Manchester City also advanced after surviving a scare against Brighton on Wednesday.

Liverpool and Chelsea drew 1-1 in normal time at Anfield before the hosts prevailed in a tense shoot-out.

The victory gave Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola bragging rights over childhood friend Xabi Alonso, who was returning to Anfield as Chelsea manager.

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Chelsea took the lead in the 40th minute when Morgan Rogers converted a penalty after Ryan Gravenberch fouled Moises Caicedo. Liverpool equalised three minutes later, with Cody Gakpo scoring from the spot after Wesley Fofana handled the ball.

Neither side found a winner in normal time, sending the tie to a penalty shoot-out.

Chelsea’s Valentin Barco struck the post, while Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas missed an opportunity to seal the win by firing over the crossbar.

Gravenberch was then denied by Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders, but Liverpool remained in contention when Giorgi Mamardashvili saved Emmanuel Emegha’s effort.

Joe Gomez converted his penalty for Liverpool before Chelsea defender Fofana missed, sending the hosts into the last eight.

The defeat marked Alonso’s third loss in three visits to Anfield as a manager, following previous defeats with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024 and Real Madrid in 2025.

Liverpool have won the League Cup 10 times. Managers Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot both reached the final in their first seasons at the club, and Iraola will hope to follow their example.

Iraola welcomed the victory, pointing to Liverpool’s three consecutive home wins after a difficult spell at Anfield in the league. He said the team would now turn its attention to Sunday’s match against Arsenal.

“We are really happy. Three wins at home in a row is very important. We were struggling at home in the league but now we go against Arsenal on Sunday,” Iraola said.

Alonso acknowledged the disappointment of losing a knockout tie on penalties but said Chelsea had performed well at a difficult venue. He added that the Premier League remained the club’s main priority.

“Every time you reach the penalties, someone will feel it is harsh to go out of the competition.

“We were showing a good level and this is what it takes to come to these stadiums. The Premier League is the main focus.”

Manchester City's French midfielder #10 Rayan Cherki, Manchester City's English defender #06 Marc Guehi and Manchester City's Argentinian midfielder #17 Enzo Fernandez celebrate winning the penalty shootout during the English League Cup fourth round football match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, north-west England on October 28, 2026. — Manchester City’s French midfielder #10 Rayan Cherki, Manchester City’s English defender #06 Marc Guehi and Manchester City’s Argentinian midfielder #17 Enzo Fernandez celebrate winning the penalty shootout during the English League Cup fourth round football match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, north-west England on October 28, 2026. Credit: AFP.

Alonso made four changes to the Chelsea side that lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham on Saturday, while Iraola made seven changes following Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brighton on Sunday.

Manchester City also needed penalties to reach the quarter-finals after drawing 2-2 with Brighton at the Etihad Stadium.

City manager Enzo Maresca made nine changes following Saturday’s defeat to 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 in the 30th minute when Malick Yalcouye turned Georginio Rutter’s shot past goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from close range.

Mateo Kovacic equalised in the 40th minute, curling a fine effort into the far corner from about 25 yards.

Rutter restored Brighton’s advantage two minutes after half-time, finishing Jaouen Hadjam’s cut-back. City levelled again in the 72nd minute when Vitor Reis deflected Rayan Cherki’s free-kick into the net.

Kovacic missed his penalty in the shoot-out, with Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele making the save. However, Rulli stopped efforts from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk to send City through.

City will face third-tier Bradford in the quarter-finals. They are scheduled to meet Brighton again in the Premier League at the Etihad on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth continued their strong run with a 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 away to Manchester United on Sunday.