Liverpool overcome Chelsea in tense penalty shootout
Liverpool knocked out Chelsea on penalties to book their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals as Xabi Alonso and Jordan Henderson fell to a comeback on their return to Anfield.
The tie inevitably went to a shootout after the teams finished level in normal time, with a Morgan Rogers penalty for the visitors cancelled out by a Cody Gakpo spot-kick at the other end.
In a tense outcome, Valentin Barco hit the woodwork for Chelsea, but Kostas Tsimikas blazed over for Liverpool and former Reds captain Henderson levelled.
Blues keeper Mike Penders then saved Ryan Gravenberch, but Giorgi Mamardashvili kept out Emmanuel Emegha's effort; after Joe Gomez scored, French defender Wesley Fofana skied his spot-kick over.
Liverpool secured their fifth straight penalty success against Chelsea as the 10-time winners booked an Anfield meeting with Andoni Iraola's former club, Bournemouth.
Both managers made several changes from the weekend's Premier League games, with Iraola making seven after Liverpool's win over Brighton.
Alonso, who won the Champions League in 2005 as a player with the Reds, made four changes for Chelsea, with Henderson starting in the absence of suspended Cole Palmer and injured Joao Pedro.
Neither goalkeeper had any saves to make in the opening stages, but the contest burst into life in the 40th minute when Gravenberch made a poor challenge on Moises Caicedo in the box, and referee Darren England awarded the Blues a penalty.
Henderson picked up the ball and was met with a chorus of boos before handing to Rogers, who sent Mamardashvili the wrong way.
But Chelsea's joy was short-lived as Fofana handled the ball in the box just three minutes later. Cody Gakpo stepped up and sent Penders the wrong way for his 11th goal of the competition.
Alonso had to make a change before half-time after centre-back Maxence Lacroix was injured and replaced by Levi Colwill.
Just before the hour mark, Iraola turned to his bench and brought on Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola for Lewis Koumas and James McConnell, both booked in the first half.
Liverpool upped the ante, and Chelsea remained a counter-attacking threat, but neither side could find a winner.
Penders, who made an error in his side's 2-0 home league loss to Spurs on Saturday, made two great saves to keep out Ronald Araujo and Barcola.
At the other end, Marco Palestra forced Mamardashvili into a brilliant save, but surprisingly, Alonso didn't bring Estevao on to try to make a difference.
With no extra time, it went straight to penalties and could have gone either way until Fofana's miss proved decisive.
Analysis: Missed opportunity for Alonso as Reds extend winning run
With Chelsea not in Europe and downbeat after their weekend loss to Tottenham, this competition represented a genuine opportunity for Alonso to win a major trophy and that was reflected by his team selection.
His side didn't make the best of starts at Anfield but once they took the lead, he will be disappointed their advantage lasted only three minutes.
They still battled well and posed a threat, but the defeat will sting, particularly because they blew a golden opportunity to win the tie when Emegha had his effort saved.
Much has been written about the friendship between Spaniards Alonso and Iraola, and while it is only three months into the new season, it's clear Iraola has had the better start. He enters November having tasted defeat just once in all competitions.
The mood around Anfield at full-time was jubilant, and Liverpool fans have now seen their team win their last five in a row, with the last three at home. Arsenal next on Sunday in the Premier League, and a test of where the Reds stand.
Both Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot reached the final of this competition in their first season in charge, and Iraola will have his sights set on emulating them in the back of his mind.
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