Liverpool win on penalties at Anfield; Man City survive Brighton scare

Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties at Anfield in the Carabao Cup fourth round (last-16) on October 28, 2026, while Manchester City edged Brighton on penalties after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad the same day.

The Liverpool-Chelsea tie pitched managers Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso, described in the report as childhood friends, into a last-16 clash at Anfield that ended 1-1 in normal time before Liverpool prevailed in the shoot-out. Alonso suffered his third defeat in three visits to Anfield as a manager, having lost there with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024 and Real Madrid in 2025. The report notes that in their debut campaigns Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot both reached the League Cup final and that Iraola is on course to follow with Liverpool, the competition's 10-time winners. "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," said Iraola, who will face his former club Bournemouth in the last eight.

Chelsea took the lead through Morgan Rogers' 40th-minute penalty after Ryan Gravenberch clattered into Moises Caicedo, but Liverpool were level three minutes later when Cody Gakpo converted a penalty following Wesley Fofana's handball. The match remained 1-1 at full time, forcing the tie to penalties.

The shoot-out saw Chelsea's Valentin Barco hit the post before Liverpool's Kostas Tsimikas blazed over a chance to win it. Mike Penders saved Ryan Gravenberch's spot-kick and Giorgi Mamardashvili denied Emmanuel Emegha, but Joe Gomez scored for Liverpool and Wesley Fofana miscued his attempt into the Kop, allowing the hosts to advance.

Alonso made just four changes to the Chelsea side that lost 2-0 to Tottenham on Saturday, while Iraola made seven alterations from Liverpool's 2-0 win against Brighton on Sunday. Alonso added: "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."

At the Etihad, City boss Enzo Maresca made nine changes after Saturday's loss at Aston Villa and rested players including Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Gianluigi Donnarumma. Brighton went ahead after 30 minutes when Malick Yalcouye steered Georginio Rutter's shot past Geronimo Rulli from five yards; Mateo Kovacic levelled 20 minutes later with a 25-yard finish; Rutter restored Brighton's lead two minutes after half-time from Jaouen Hadjam's cut-back; and Vitor Reis deflected in Rayan Cherki's 72nd-minute free-kick to make it 2-2.

In the shoot-out, Kovacic had his penalty saved by Jason Steele, but Geronimo Rulli denied Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk to send Manchester City into the quarterfinals.

Bournemouth extended their run with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium after beating AC Milan 3-0 in the Europa League last week and Manchester United 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday. Crystal Palace won 1-0 at Fulham, Sunderland beat Brentford 3-2 at the Stadium of Light, and fourth-tier Fleetwood reached the quarterfinals with a penalty shoot-out victory over Arsenal and will face the winners of Everton v Newcastle.

Liverpool will meet Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup quarterfinals, Manchester City will face third-tier Bradford for a place in the semifinals, and City and Brighton meet again in the Premier League at the Etihad on Saturday.