Liverpool and Manchester City both survived penalty shootouts on Wednesday night to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, avoiding the fate that befell Arsenal a day earlier. Liverpool beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Anfield, while holders City edged Brighton 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
At Anfield, both goals came from the penalty spot. Morgan Rogers gave Chelsea the lead in the 40th minute after Ryan Gravenberch fouled Moisés Caicedo inside the area, but Cody Gakpo equalised three minutes later following a handball by Wesley Fofana. Neither side scored again in normal time, and in the shootout Fofana missed what proved to be the final kick, smashing it well over the crossbar and into the Kop as Liverpool fans roared in delight.
City, staying on course to retain the trophy, twice came from behind against Brighton. Malick Yalcouyé opened the scoring for the visitors in the 30th minute before Mateo Kovaçić equalised ten minutes later, and Georginio Rutter restored Brighton's lead in the 47th minute before Vitor Reis levelled again in the 72nd minute. In the shootout, backup goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli saved Brighton's last two spot kicks — from Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk — to rescue City, who had fallen behind in the shootout when Kovaçić had the team's fourth penalty saved.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Bournemouth beat Aston Villa 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium, with Amine Adli opening the scoring in the 7th minute, Lewis Cook doubling the lead in the 51st and Álvaro Rodríguez adding the third in the 69th. Sunderland overcame Brentford 3-2 at the Stadium of Light, and Crystal Palace won 1-0 at Fulham thanks to Eddie Nketiah's 37th-minute goal. The five winners join Tuesday's qualifiers Fleetwood Town, who stunned Arsenal on penalties, and Bradford City, who beat Peterborough United 2-0.
The quarter-final draw, made later on Wednesday, handed Liverpool another home tie against Bournemouth at Anfield, while Manchester City will host League One side Bradford City. Crystal Palace will host Sunderland, and Fleetwood will face the winner of Thursday's remaining fourth-round tie between Everton and Newcastle United. The quarter-final fixtures will be played in the week starting December 14.
Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso was largely happy with his side's performance despite the shootout defeat. "Every time you reach the penalties, someone will feel it is harsh to go out of the competition," he said. "It was really close from both sides. Penalties mean it is open to anything. They have performed at a good enough level to compete at Anfield. The game was really close for both sides. It has been a solid performance from Mike [Penders]. We didn't concede many chances, but he was quite stable and solid with his performances. That was really important in the first half for us. This is football. It is part of our job. We were showing a good level, and this is what it takes to come to these stadiums. The Premier League is the main focus."
The fourth round concludes on Thursday, when Everton host Newcastle United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium to decide the final quarter-final place — and who travels to Fleetwood's Highbury Stadium, which holds just over 5,000.
