Liverpool secured a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea to book their place in the League Cup quarter-finals, while defending champions Manchester City narrowly avoided an upset against Brighton on Wednesday.

In a last-16 encounter at Anfield, Liverpool’s manager emerged victorious in the battle between childhood friends Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso.

The match finished 1-1 after normal time, sending the tie to penalties. Chelsea took the lead through Morgan Rogers from the spot, but Cody Gakpo responded with a penalty of his own shortly before half-time to bring Liverpool level.

The shoot-out produced plenty of drama, with Chelsea’s Valentin Barco striking the post before Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas missed an opportunity to seal the victory by sending his effort over the crossbar.

Ryan Gravenberch was unable to beat Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders, while Giorgi Mamardashvili kept Liverpool in contention by saving Emmanuel Emegha’s penalty.

Joe Gomez then converted for Liverpool, putting the pressure back on Chelsea. However, Blues defender Wesley Fofana failed to keep his attempt on target, firing the ball into the Kop and confirming Liverpool’s progression to the quarter-finals.

The defeat marked former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso’s third consecutive loss at Anfield as a manager, following previous setbacks with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024 and Real Madrid in 2025.

Liverpool have a strong recent history in the League Cup, with Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot both guiding the club to the final during their debut seasons in charge. Iraola now has an opportunity to follow their example as Liverpool pursue a record-extending 11th title in the competition.

Alonso made just four changes to Chelsea’s starting line-up after their 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham on Saturday. Meanwhile, Iraola rotated his Liverpool side with seven changes following Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Brighton.

Chelsea took the lead in the 40th minute when Morgan Rogers converted a penalty after Ryan Gravenberch brought down Moises Caicedo inside the box.

Liverpool responded just three minutes later, with Cody Gakpo calmly converting from the spot after Wesley Fofana was penalised for handball, restoring parity before the break.

Rulli Shines as Manchester City Survive Brighton Scare

Manchester City were taken to the limit by Brighton at the Etihad Stadium before securing their place in the League Cup quarter-finals with a penalty shoot-out victory following a 2-2 draw.

City boss Enzo Maresca made nine changes to his starting line-up after Saturday’s defeat to Aston Villa, which brought the league leaders’ perfect start to the Premier League season to an end.

Several key players were rested, including Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Brighton took the lead in the 30th minute when Malick Yalcouye turned Georginio Rutter’s effort past Geronimo Rulli from close range, putting the visitors in front.

However, City responded strongly, with Mateo Kovacic restoring parity 20 minutes later. The midfielder produced an excellent finish from around 25 yards, curling the ball into the far corner to bring the hosts back into the contest.

Brighton regained the advantage just two minutes after the restart, with Georginio Rutter calmly finishing Jaouen Hadjam’s cut-back to put the visitors back in front.

Manchester City continued to push for an equaliser and found one in the 72nd minute. Vitor Reis got a decisive touch on Rayan Cherki’s free-kick, deflecting the ball into the net to make it 2-2.

The contest was eventually decided by a penalty shoot-out. Mateo Kovacic saw his spot-kick saved by Jason Steele, but Geronimo Rulli proved decisive for City, stopping efforts from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk to secure the hosts’ place in the quarter-finals.

The two teams will meet again at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday in the Premier League, setting up another intriguing encounter.

Bournemouth continued their impressive run of form with a commanding 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium.

The Cherries followed up a 3-0 Europa League triumph over AC Milan last week with another convincing performance, beating Manchester United by the same scoreline in the Premier League on Sunday.

Marco Rose’s side maintained their momentum against Villa, with Amine Adli, Lewis Cook and Alvaro Rodriguez all finding the net to secure a fifth consecutive win across all competitions.

Crystal Palace also picked up a valuable result, defeating Fulham 1-0 away from home to ease the pressure on under-fire manager Pierre Sage.

Eddie Nketiah scored the decisive goal in the 37th minute, earning Palace their first victory in five matches across all competitions.

Meanwhile, Sunderland enjoyed a much-needed boost with a thrilling 3-2 win over Brentford at the Stadium of Light, offering some relief from their Premier League struggles.

Despite sitting at the bottom of the league table, Sunderland produced an impressive attacking display, with Chemsdine Talbi, Tymur Tutierov and Malick Fofana all getting on the scoresheet.

Callum Wilson and Igor Thiago struck late for Brentford, but their efforts came too late to prevent Sunderland from claiming the victory.

The League Cup quarter-final line-up will see Liverpool host Bournemouth, Manchester City welcome Bradford City, and Sunderland take on Crystal Palace.

Fourth-tier side Fleetwood Town produced one of the biggest shocks of the competition on Tuesday, defeating Premier League champions Arsenal in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to book their place in the last eight.

Fleetwood will discover their quarter-final opponents after Everton and Newcastle United meet in the final fourth-round fixture on Thursday, with the winner advancing to face the underdogs.