Liverpool 1 - 1 Chelsea (Penalties: 6-5): Liverpool survive Anfield shootout after Gakpo reply

Liverpool are into the League Cup quarter-finals after beating Chelsea in the Round of 16 at Anfield on 28 October 2026. Final score: Liverpool 1 - 1 Chelsea (Liverpool won 6-5 on penalties).

Chelsea led through Morgan Rogers, who scored from a penalty in the 40th minute. Liverpool answered quickly when Cody Gakpo scored from a penalty in the 43rd minute. There was no winner in normal time, so the tie went straight to penalties. In the shootout, Joe Gomez converted Liverpool’s eighth kick before Wesley Fofana missed Chelsea’s eighth, giving Liverpool the decisive edge.

This was not a classic Liverpool-Chelsea cup epic in the old sense, but it carried familiar weight: two clubs with long knockout history, rotated sides, young players exposed to pressure, and senior names asked to steady the room. A. Slot got enough from his bench. Xabi Alonso got plenty from Rogers, but not enough from the shootout line.

The set-up

A. Slot set Liverpool up in a 4-2-3-1.

Liverpool started with Giorgi Mamardashvili in goal, with Joe Gomez, Ronald Araújo, Virgil van Dijk and Konstantinos Tsimikas across the back four. Ryan Gravenberch and Treymaurice Nyoni formed the midfield base, with Lewis Koumas, James McConnell and Rio Ngumoha behind Cody Gakpo.

Xabi Alonso also went with a 4-2-3-1 for Chelsea.

Chelsea started with Mike Penders in goal, with Joshua Kofi Acheampong, Maxence Lacroix, Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto in defence. Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia sat behind Pedro Neto, Jordan Henderson and Morgan Rogers, with Danny Welbeck leading the line.

The symmetry mattered. Both sides used the same structure, so the match became about individual timing: who could receive between the lines, who could carry under pressure, and who could avoid the cheap foul. Early on, Liverpool struggled with discipline. Lewis Koumas was booked in the 11th minute for a foul, then James McConnell was booked in the 21st minute for handball. That shaped Slot’s first big decision later.

Chelsea were not dominant, but Rogers was the most dangerous player on the pitch. He finished with six shots, two on target, three successful dribbles from four attempts, and Chelsea’s only goal in normal time. He gave Alonso exactly what a cup away performance needs: carry, threat and nerve.

Penalties before penalties

The match turned in three minutes.

Morgan Rogers scored in the 40th minute from a penalty to put Chelsea ahead. There was no elaborate pattern to dress up. It was a penalty, and Rogers took the moment.

Liverpool’s answer was immediate. Cody Gakpo scored in the 43rd minute, also from a penalty. For Slot, that response mattered as much as the scoreline itself. His team had been dragged into Chelsea’s rhythm, booked twice before the interval, and still found a way back before the break.

Chelsea made the first change at 45+1', with Levi Colwill replacing Maxence Lacroix. Alonso acted before the second half settled, likely with control and security in mind. Chelsea’s back line needed fresh balance, and Colwill later became part of the shootout drama by converting his penalty.

The second half had more tension than fluency. Joshua Kofi Acheampong was booked in the 50th minute, then Slot moved first from the bench. In the 59th minute, Bradley Barcola came on for Lewis Koumas and Florian Wirtz came on for James McConnell. The logic was clear: remove two booked young players, add running and craft.

That mattered. Barcola finished with two shots, one on target, and later scored in the shootout. Wirtz did not dominate the match, but he brought cleaner angles and also converted his penalty. Cup ties are often won by those small margins of bench courage.

Alonso responded in the 68th minute with a triple change: Emanuel Emegha on for Danny Welbeck, Marco Palestra on for Malo Gusto, and Valentin Barco on for Moises Caicedo. It changed Chelsea’s legs more than their control. Palestra had one shot on target. Barco later missed in the shootout.

Slot then withdrew Virgil van Dijk in the 72nd minute, sending on Jérémy Jacquet. A minute later, Romeo Lavia was booked in the 73rd minute for a foul. Liverpool’s final changes came late: Alexis Mac Allister on for Treymaurice Nyoni in the 81st minute, then Alexander Isak on for Rio Ngumoha in the 82nd minute.

Those two substitutions were not decorative. Mac Allister scored Liverpool’s first penalty in the shootout. Isak also converted. Slot’s late package delivered.

The players who bent the game

Gakpo was Liverpool’s anchor. He scored in the 43rd minute, had two shots on target, and scored again in the shootout. On a night when Liverpool’s attack was mixed, he gave them certainty.

Rogers was Chelsea’s strongest case for going through. His penalty in the 40th minute gave them the lead, and his shootout penalty kept Chelsea level in the sequence. He was direct, persistent and difficult to pin down.

Rio Ngumoha was also important, even without a goal. He completed four dribbles from four attempts, won eight of 11 duels, and drew three fouls. That is not decoration for a teenager in a Liverpool-Chelsea cup tie. That is territory. That is pressure. His exit in the 82nd minute for Isak was understandable, but his work had already stretched Chelsea.

Treymaurice Nyoni gave Liverpool 81 minutes of calm. His 76 passes, four interceptions, and four duels won gave Liverpool a platform before Mac Allister came on. Konstantinos Tsimikas created two key passes, but his missed penalty in the shootout briefly reopened the door for Chelsea.

For Chelsea, Lavia fought hard in midfield, winning eight of 13 duels, although his booking in the 73rd minute showed how tight the margins had become. Jordan Henderson completed a team-high 58 passes and scored his shootout penalty. Fofana, excellent in duels with nine won from 11, became the unfortunate final name because of his miss in the shootout.

Match stats

The numbers tell a fair story. Liverpool had a little more of the ball, slightly higher xG, and more corners. Chelsea had one more shot. Both goalkeepers, Mamardashvili and Penders, made three saves. Nobody ran away with this. Nobody controlled it completely.

Shootout sequence

That sequence had everything except comfort. Liverpool missed twice and still advanced. Chelsea had chances to tilt it, but Barco’s miss, Emegha’s miss and Fofana’s final miss proved too costly.

What it means

For Liverpool, this is a cup win with value. Slot advanced, protected some senior legs, and got decisive shootout penalties from Mac Allister, Isak, Wirtz, Barcola and Gomez. The quarter-final place matters, but so does the evidence: the squad has nerve beyond the first XI.

For Chelsea, Alonso will not need to search hard for positives. Rogers was excellent, Lavia competed, Henderson gave structure, and Penders was not overawed. But knockout football is cruel because it reduces good work to one final miss. At Anfield, that miss came from Fofana.

Liverpool move on. Chelsea leave with frustration. The League Cup path stays open for Slot, and with bigger fixtures coming, this was exactly the kind of messy win that can strengthen a dressing room.