Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to reach last eight

Wesley Fofana missed the decisive spot kick as Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to set up a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Andoni Iraola’s former side Bournemouth.

Fofana, whose handball had gifted Liverpool their equaliser from the spot in normal time, scooped his penalty into the Kop after Giorgi Mamardashvili had denied Chelsea debutant Emmanuel Emegha.

Valentin Barco, another Chelsea substitute, also missed his spot kick, sending his effort against the post, but Ryan Gravenberch was thwarted by Mike Penders and Kostas Tsimikas fired over to keep a dramatic shoot-out going before Fofana’s miss.

The goals also came from the spot in normal time, with Morgan Rogers and Cody Gakpo converting within three minutes of each other as a cagey first half burst into life before the break.

Both penalties were needlessly conceded, with Gravenberch first fouling Moises Caicedo when he was running away from goal, and Fofana then bizarrely raising his hand to touch a Tzimikas corner.

There were chances for both sides to win it in the second half, with Penders saving from substitute Bradley Barcola and Ronald Araujo, and Mamardashvili denying Rogers and Chelsea substitute Marco Palestra. But the two sides could not be separated.

While Chelsea named a strong starting line-up, Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola included four youngsters in Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha, James McConnell and Lewis Koumas. But the Blues were unable to make their greater experience count.

The victory makes it five in a row in all competitions for Liverpool. For Chelsea, it’s a second consecutive defeat after their Premier League loss to Spurs. The Blues also lost defender Maxence Lacroix to an apparent hamstring injury in the first half.

What’s next?