Fofana miss costs Chelsea as Liverpool advances
Wesley Fofana missed the decisive penalty as Liverpool defeated Chelsea 6-5 in a dramatic Carabao Cup shoot-out, after a 1-1 draw in Thursday's fourth-round tie.
Spot-kicks were central throughout the contest, with Morgan Rogers and Cody Gakpo both scoring from 12 yards within the space of three first-half minutes.
After an end-to-end second half, the drama continued into the shoot-out with Kostas Tsimikas and Emmanuel Emegha both missing chances to win it for their respective teams, the latter on his Chelsea debut.
And after a rocket of a kick from Joe Gomez found the top-right corner, Fofana sent his effort spiralling into the Kop, dropping Xabi Alonso to defeat on his first return to Anfield since taking the Chelsea job.
Rogers saw an early penalty appeal fall on deaf ears, but referee Darren England did point to the spot in the 38th minute, when Moises Caicedo got goal-side of Ryan Gravenberch and was clattered from behind by the Dutchman.
With Cole Palmer suspended after his red card against Tottenham on Sunday, it was Rogers who converted into the right side of the goal, after a brief moment in which it appeared former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson might take the kick.
But the Reds had a penalty of their own shortly after Rogers's goal, with Gakpo finding the bottom-left corner after Fofana inexplicably handled from a corner.
Mike Penders made two saves as Liverpool dialled up the pressure after half-time, keeping out a bullet header from Ronald Araujo and tipping a strike from Bradley Barcola around the post, moments after the Frenchman came on alongside Florian Wirtz.
Chelsea continued to carry a threat, with Giorgi Mamardashvili getting down brilliantly to thwart Marco Palestra following a powerful run from Rogers, though they may not have made it to the shoot-out, if not for Levi Colwill making a heroic block in front of Wirtz.
After seven perfect kicks, Valentin Barco's effort bounced off the inside of the post but Tsimikas – who scored the decisive spot-kick when the teams met in the 2022 FA Cup final – blazed wildly over when presented with the chance to win the tie for Liverpool.
After Henderson made light of the Kop's boos to send it to sudden death, Emegha failed to punish Gravenberch for his saved kick, and it was Fofana who made the all-important error for Chelsea.
Wesley Tidjan Fofana
Chelsea FC
