Liverpool beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Anfield to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. Joe Gomez converted the decisive Liverpool kick before Wesley Fofana missed for Chelsea.
Featured image: Liverpool celebrate after their penalty shootout win over Chelsea at Anfield on 28 October 2026. Photo: Liverpool FC via their official Facebook account. Display versions may be cropped. Original club post.
Morgan Rogers and Cody Gakpo had traded penalties before half-time. Neither side found another goal in normal time, leaving the shootout to decide who would reach the quarter-finals.
Liverpool and Chelsea exchange first-half penalties
Chelsea took the lead after Moises Caicedo went down under Ryan Gravenberch’s challenge. Rogers converted the resulting penalty into the right corner.
Liverpool soon had a spot-kick of their own when Fofana handled at a corner. Gakpo finished low and powerfully to restore parity before the break.
Gakpo then forced Mike Penders into a save from outside the penalty area. The first half ended level after its late burst of action.
Goalkeepers keep the tie level
Giorgi Mamardashvili denied Rogers early in the second half and then gathered an effort from Pedro Neto. At the other end, Penders saved Ronald Araujo’s close-range header.
Chelsea broke from that chance, but Gomez blocked Rogers’ attempt. Penders later kept out Bradley Barcola as the pressure continued at both ends.
Mamardashvili also made a late one-handed save from Marco Palestra. Liverpool then threatened through Florian Wirtz and Barcola, only for Chelsea’s defending to prevent a winner.
Liverpool beat Chelsea as Gomez scores and Fofana misses
The teams remained level after 90 minutes and the tie went to penalties. Both sides had converted five of their first seven kicks before Gomez stepped forward.
His finish put Liverpool ahead. Fofana then sent his effort over, giving the home side a 6-5 shootout win and a place in the last eight.
The 1-1 match score and 6-5 penalty score describe different parts of the tie. Liverpool progressed on penalties; the game did not finish 6-5 in normal time.
The cup result follows the league win over Brighton covered in our previous match report.
Liverpool will host Bournemouth next
Liverpool’s official post-match account of Andoni Iraola’s press conference confirms a home quarter-final against AFC Bournemouth. The draw gives Iraola a meeting with his former club.
Iraola said getting through was what mattered in cup competition and praised his players’ effort. He also described Bournemouth as a side in good form and acknowledged the personal significance of the tie.
Liverpool had made seven changes for the Chelsea match. Iraola said those choices aimed to balance the team, rather than simply preserve penalty takers for a possible shootout. His substitutes still played a part in the pressure Liverpool created as the game went on.
No quarter-final kick-off time is confirmed in the sources used here. The immediate outcome is settled: Liverpool advance, Chelsea leave the competition, and Bournemouth will travel to Anfield in the next round.
Sources: Liverpool’s match report and Iraola’s post-match press conference.
