Liverpool’s hopes of winning a record-extending 11th EFL Cup remain alive after they beat Chelsea on penalties in the fourth round at Anfield on Wednesday night.

The Reds briefly fell behind when Morgan Rogers converted from the penalty spot, before Cody Gakpo restored parity with his own spot-kick on the stroke of half time.

The closely-contested battle eventually had to be decided via a tense penalty shootout that saw five players miss from 12 yards, with Kostas Tsimikas and Ryan Gravenberch both failing to convert for the Reds.

However, Giorgi Mamardashvili denied Chelsea’s Emmanuel Emegha after Valentin Barco had struck his effort off the post, before Wesley Fofana blazed over the deceive spot-kick to send Liverpool through to the quarter-finals.

Victory for Liverpool means they have now won all five of their competitive penalty shootouts against Chelsea in their club history.

The Reds had previously beaten the Blues in the 2022 FA Cup and EFL Cup finals under Jurgen Klopp, while they also prevailed on penalties in the 2019 Super Cup.

Liverpool’s first shootout triumph over Chelsea was back in 2007 when Xabi Alonso – now in charge of the Blues – converted his spot-kick for the Reds to help send them through to the Champions League final.

Iraola: “The only team I don’t want is Bournemouth”

Reacting to Liverpool’s latest win on Wednesday, head coach Andoni Iraola told reporters: “At the end in the cup competitions what matters is that you are in the next round and you are in the draw.

“Lucky for us finishing the right side of the penalty shootout. I finish pleased because the players have done a very big effort today and at least we get the reward of being in the quarter-finals.”

Liverpool will come up against Iraola’s former club Bournemouth in the last eight, with this tie at Anfield to take place during the week commencing December 14.

“Honestly, I was talking before the draw and I said, ‘The only team I don’t want is Bournemouth’. For me, it’s special,” said Iraola.

“They know me very well, they are playing very well lately, in a good moment. But it is what it is. We haven’t been very lucky with the draws – we have played Spurs and Chelsea already and now Bournemouth.

“That is going to be obviously special for me, but we have to earn the right to be in the semi-finals and I hope we can do it here at home again.”

Liverpool will now turn their attention back to the Premier League as they welcome reigning champions Arsenal to Anfield for a blockbuster showdown on Sunday.