Liverpool wins League Cup shoot-out against Chelsea

Liverpool beat Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to reach the League Cup quarter-finals, while holders Manchester City survived a scare against Brighton on October 28, 2026. In a clash between childhood friends Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso, it was the Liverpool manager who took the bragging rights in the last-16 tie at Anfield.

A 1-1 draw in normal time set the stage for the shoot-out as Chelsea’s Morgan Rogers netted from the penalty spot, only for Cody Gakpo to equalise with a penalty of his own just before half-time.

Chelsea’s Valentin Barco hit the post in the shoot-out before Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas wasted a chance to win it when he blazed over. Ryan Gravenberch was denied by Chelsea keeper Mike Penders, but Giorgi Mamardashvili saved Emmanuel Emegha’s kick to keep Liverpool alive. Joe Gomez scored for Liverpool, and Blues defender Wesley Fofana miscued his kick into the Kop as the hosts advanced. This defeat marked former Liverpool midfielder Alonso’s third loss in three visits to Anfield as a manager following earlier losses with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024 and Real Madrid in 2025.

Iraola made seven changes from Liverpool’s last match, a 2-0 win against Brighton on Sunday, while Alonso made four changes to the Chelsea side that lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham the previous Saturday. Rogers put Chelsea in front with a 40th-minute penalty after Gravenberch fouled Moises Caicedo, but Liverpool were level three minutes later with a penalty from Gakpo following Fofana’s handball.

At the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City was pushed to the brink by Brighton in a 2-2 draw before winning on penalties. City boss Enzo Maresca made nine changes after Saturday’s loss at Aston Villa, which ended the leaders’ 100 percent start to the Premier League campaign. City fell behind after 30 minutes when Malick Yalcouye steered Georginio Rutter’s shot past Geronimo Rulli. Mateo Kovacic equalised for City 20 minutes later with a fine finish from 25 yards, but Rutter restored Brighton’s lead two minutes after half-time. Vitor Reis deflected in Rayan Cherki’s free-kick to equalise for City.

Though Kovacic’s penalty was saved in the shoot-out, Rulli denied Brighton’s Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk to send City into the last eight. The two sides are scheduled to meet again in the Premier League at the Etihad on Saturday. In other matches, Bournemouth secured a 3-0 win against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace eased pressure on their manager with a 1-0 win over Fulham, and Sunderland celebrated a 3-2 victory over Brentford.