Liverpool Edge Chelsea, Man City Survive Brighton To Reach Carabao Cup 2026-27 Quarterfinals

Liverpool and Manchester City reached the Carabao Cup quarterfinals after both came through penalty shootouts on Wednesday.

The wins keep both clubs alive in the fourth round and set up quarterfinal ties next. Liverpool now face Bournemouth, while City take on third-tier Bradford for a place in the semi-finals.

At Anfield, Chelsea led through Morgan Rogers before Cody Gakpo levelled from the spot. At the Etihad, Brighton twice moved ahead, but City recovered each time and then survived the shootout.

Liverpool Chelsea Shootout

Chelsea struck first. Morgan Rogers scored in the 40th minute to put Alonso's side 1-0 up, but Liverpool replied three minutes later when Gakpo converted a penalty.

The match stayed level after 90 minutes and went to penalties. Valentin Barco hit the post for Chelsea, then Liverpool missed their first chance to seal it when Kostas Tsimikas blazed over. Ryan Gravenberch was then denied by Chelsea keeper Mike Penders.

Liverpool stayed alive through Giorgi Mamardashvili. He saved Emmanuel Emegha's kick, Joe Gomez scored for Liverpool and Wesley Fofana then miskicked the decisive penalty into the Kop to send the hosts through.

Alonso has now lost on all three managerial trips to Anfield. Bayer Leverkusen beat him there in 2024 and Real Madrid did the same in 2025, while Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot both reached the League Cup final in their first seasons at Liverpool. Iraola is still on track to match that run with 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,” Iraola said in his post-match interview.

Liverpool meet Bournemouth in the quarter-finals, the club Iraola once managed. Alonso said, "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," he added.

City Survive Brighton

City made nine changes. Enzo Maresca shuffled his side after Saturday's defeat at Aston Villa, a result that ended City's perfect start to the Premier League season.

Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Gianluigi Donnarumma sat out. Brighton struck first in the 30th minute, with Malick Yalcouye guiding Georginio Rutter's effort past Geronimo Rulli from five yards.

City hit back 20 minutes later as Mateo Kovacic curled a 25-yard finish into the far corner. Brighton restored their lead two minutes after half-time when Rutter slotted home from Jaouen Hadjam's cut-back.

City levelled again in the 72nd minute. Vitor Reis deflected in Rayan Cherki's free-kick to make it 2-2 and force penalties.

Jason Steele kept out Kovacic's effort in the shootout, but Rulli stopped Brighton's Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk to put City into the last eight. The teams meet again in the Premier League at the Etihad on Saturday, before City play Bradford in the quarter-finals.

Other Quarterfinals

Bournemouth stayed in form with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium. That followed a 3-0 victory over AC Milan in the Europa League last week and a 3-0 win at Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

Crystal Palace beat Fulham 1-0 to ease pressure on under-fire boss Pierre Sage. Palace will host Sunderland in the quarter-finals after Sunderland beat Brentford 3-2 at the Stadium of Light.

Fleetwood also advanced. The fourth-tier side beat Arsenal on penalties on Tuesday and will face the winners of Thursday's tie between Everton and Newcastle.