The Liverpool vs Chelsea result on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, was a 1-1 draw at Anfield settled by a 6-5 penalty shootout win for Liverpool in the Carabao Cup fourth round, trending per news coverage on a night when both goals came from the penalty spot within three minutes of each other. Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead from the spot in the 40th minute, Cody Gakpo levelled from the spot in the 43rd minute, and after a goalless second half the tie went straight to penalties, with no extra time in this round of the competition. Liverpool eventually prevailed after 16 kicks, Joe Gomez scoring the decisive penalty before Wesley Fofana sent Chelsea's final effort over the bar. The win sends Liverpool into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, where they will host Bournemouth at Anfield in the week commencing 14 December 2026. This explainer sets out how the tie unfolded, every kick of the shootout in order, what the result means for both managers, and the full quarter-final draw.
Liverpool vs Chelsea: How the 1-1 Draw Unfolded at Anfield
For much of the first half, Liverpool vs Chelsea was cagey and short on clear chances. Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola made seven changes to his side, while Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso made four, fielding a side close to his strongest available team. Neither team managed to turn possession into a clear opening until the final minutes of the first half, when two defensive errors in quick succession produced two penalties and changed the whole complexion of the tie.
Chelsea struck first in the 40th minute. Ryan Gravenberch brought down Moises Caicedo inside the penalty area, and Morgan Rogers stepped up to convert from 12 yards, sending goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili the wrong way. It was the first shot on goal from either team, and it gave Chelsea a lead their patient first-half approach had barely threatened to produce. Chelsea's advantage lasted only three minutes. Wesley Fofana handled a Kostas Tsimikas corner, conceding a penalty at the other end, and Cody Gakpo drilled his spot-kick into the bottom corner to make it 1-1 at half-time. In the space of three minutes, Liverpool vs Chelsea had gone from a goalless stalemate to a tie level on penalties, with both scorers converting from the spot.
The second half was far more open, even though neither side could find a second goal. Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders, who had made a costly error in Saturday's defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, produced important saves to deny Ronald Araujo, Bradley Barcola and Gakpo, keeping Chelsea in the tie when Liverpool pressed. At the other end, Mamardashvili saved well from Chelsea substitute Marco Palestra in the 78th minute, and Levi Colwill blocked a Florian Wirtz effort from 10 yards in the 80th minute. Chelsea also lost defender Maxence Lacroix to injury just before half-time, with Colwill replacing him, while Liverpool introduced Alexis Mac Allister and Alexander Isak late on in search of a winner. No winner came, and with Carabao Cup fourth-round ties decided on the night, Liverpool vs Chelsea went directly to a penalty shootout.
Liverpool vs Chelsea Penalty Shootout: All 16 Kicks in Order
The penalty shootout lasted eight rounds and 16 kicks, finishing 6-5 to Liverpool. The first three rounds were faultless, with both teams converting every kick, before the misses began and the shootout swung back and forth into sudden death. The full sequence was:
- Alexis Mac Allister scores for Liverpool, 1-0.
- Pedro Neto scores for Chelsea, 1-1.
- Alexander Isak scores for Liverpool, 2-1.
- Morgan Rogers scores for Chelsea, 2-2.
- Cody Gakpo scores for Liverpool, 3-2.
- Romeo Lavia scores for Chelsea, 3-3.
- Florian Wirtz scores for Liverpool, 4-3.
- Valentin Barco misses for Chelsea, hitting the post, 4-3.
- Kostas Tsimikas misses for Liverpool, firing over with a chance to win the tie, 4-3.
- Jordan Henderson scores for Chelsea, 4-4.
- Bradley Barcola scores for Liverpool, 5-4.
- Levi Colwill scores for Chelsea, 5-5.
- Ryan Gravenberch misses for Liverpool, saved by Mike Penders, 5-5.
- Emmanuel Emegha misses for Chelsea, saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili, 5-5.
- Joe Gomez scores for Liverpool, 6-5.
- Wesley Fofana misses for Chelsea, sending his penalty over the bar, and Liverpool win 6-5.
The turning points came in pairs. Barco's miss against the post gave Tsimikas the chance to win it for Liverpool, but Tsimikas fired over and Henderson levelled the shootout. In sudden death, Penders saved from Gravenberch, only for Mamardashvili to answer by saving from Emegha, the Chelsea debutant who had come on as a second-half substitute. That left Gomez, a defender yet to score for Liverpool in normal time, to rifle the decisive penalty into the top corner. Fofana, whose handball had conceded Liverpool's equaliser in normal time, then had to score to keep Chelsea alive, but he sent his kick over the bar and into the Kop. The contrast at the end summed up the night for the two defenders: Gomez held his nerve, and Fofana endured a difficult evening from the first penalty he conceded to the last one he missed.
What the Shootout Win Means for Liverpool and Chelsea
For Liverpool, the shootout win was a fifth successive victory in all competitions, according to match reporting, and another sign of growing momentum under Iraola. The head coach praised the effort of a much-changed team and the reward of a quarter-final place, telling Liverpool's official website that the players had done a very big effort and at least got the reward of being in the quarter-finals. He also welcomed the connection between his players and the Anfield crowd, saying the support mattered and that when everyone was together, the team created better atmospheres. Gomez was the unlikely hero of the shootout, taking the armband after Virgil van Dijk was replaced and then showing real nerve with the decisive kick. The result also extended a painful pattern for Chelsea: reports noted it was a fifth successive penalty-shootout defeat to Liverpool, with Liverpool maintaining a perfect record in shootouts between the two clubs.
For Chelsea, the defeat was a second in succession after the loss to Tottenham, and it ended their Carabao Cup campaign at the fourth-round stage. Alonso described the exit as a small setback and turned attention back to the Premier League, saying the Premier League was the main focus. He was largely happy with his side's performance at Anfield, noting that his team had performed at a good enough level to compete there, that the game had been really close, and that penalties could go either way. Penders, despite the error against Tottenham, was solid and made several important saves, including the shootout save from Gravenberch. Chelsea now host Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday, with no cup tie to distract from that fixture. Like the dramatic late finish in Rays vs Brewers Game 4, this was a knockout tie decided only at the very end, and the fine margins of the shootout will sting for Chelsea even though the performance offered Alonso encouragement.
Carabao Cup Quarter-Final Draw: Liverpool vs Bournemouth Next
Liverpool will host Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, a tie that brings Iraola face to face with his former club. Bournemouth reached the last eight with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa, and Iraola has already beaten them once this season, in September at the Vitality Stadium. Reacting to the draw, Iraola said he had told someone before the draw that Bournemouth was the only team he did not want, while adding that it would be special to face his former club in such a big match. The full Carabao Cup quarter-final draw is:
- Fleetwood Town vs Everton or Newcastle United
- Crystal Palace vs Sunderland
- Manchester City vs Bradford City
- Liverpool vs Bournemouth
Fleetwood Town, the League Two side who stunned Arsenal on penalties on Tuesday, will host the winner of Thursday's tie between Everton and Newcastle United. Manchester City, who also needed penalties to beat Brighton, will host League One side Bradford City, while Crystal Palace host Sunderland. All four quarter-final ties will be played in the week commencing 14 December 2026, with the semi-finals scheduled for the weeks commencing 11 January and 1 February 2027 and the final at Wembley Stadium on 21 March 2027. The fourth round had already delivered one famous shootout shock, when Fleetwood beat Arsenal 5-3 on penalties, and Liverpool vs Chelsea added another dramatic shootout to a round defined by spot-kicks. Liverpool will go into the Bournemouth tie as favourites at Anfield, but the fourth round showed how quickly a cup tie can turn on a single penalty, a single save, or a single miss.
Sources: Sky Sports match report and quarter-final coverage, October 2026; Liverpool FC official match coverage, October 2026; West London Sport, 29 October 2026; Sportradar EFL Cup match data, 28 October 2026; TNT Sports quarter-final draw coverage, October 2026; USA Today quarter-final draw coverage, October 2026; Sports Illustrated match and draw coverage, October 2026.