EFL Cup: Ceballos miss hands Liverpool 5-4 win in shoot-out
Dani Ceballos missed his penalty as Liverpool beat Arsenal in a shoot-out at the end of a 5-5 EFL Cup draw at Anfield.
Published : Oct 31, 2019 09:03 IST
Arsenal twice squandered the lead as it was dumped out of the EFL Cup by Liverpool on penalties after a remarkable 5-5 draw at Anfield.
Under-pressure Gunners boss Unai Emery needed a positive result to lift the gloom around Arsenal after they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Crystal Palace, but Jurgen Klopp's irrepressible young Reds prevailed.
Shkodran Mustafi's own goal and James Milner's penalty bookended a Lucas Torreira strike and Gabriel Martinelli's double in a first half characterised by defensive errors and gung-ho attacking.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles extended Arsenal's 3-2 interval lead before strikes from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Divock Origi levelled the contest, only for Joe Willock to put Arsenal back in front with a wonderful solo effort 20 minutes from time.
But Origi penetrated Arsenal's porous defence again to take the game to penalties, and Dani Ceballos had his spot-kick saved as Liverpool clinched a place in the quarter-finals at the expense of its beleaguered visitor.
Mustafi inadvertently bundled the ball past Emiliano Martinez with his knee to put Liverpool ahead before Torreira appeared to come from an offside position when he side-footed home the equaliser.
Arsenal went ahead when a quick free-kick caused havoc in the Liverpool box, before Martinelli lashed his side's second high into the roof of the net. Teenage home debutant Neco Williams then gave possession away cheaply to allow Martinelli to score again.
Moments later, Brazilian forward Martinelli was judged to have fouled Harvey Elliott in the box and James Milner buried the ensuing penalty. But Milner's calamitous back-pass let Maitland-Niles steal in and - after Mesut Ozil kept the ball in play with a sensational drag-back - restore Arsenal's two-goal advantage.
Oxlade-Chamberlain unleashed a wickedly dipping shot that screamed over Martinez and into the net to make it 4-3 before Curtis Jones drove Liverpool forward and picked out Origi who found the net with a fortuitous drive.
The pick of the goals came from Willock who was allowed to run through Liverpool's midfield before curling an exquisite finish into the top corner from 25 yards.
But Arsenal's habit of letting leads slip struck again when Origi was left unmarked 12 yards from goal and he volleyed Williams' cross beyond Martinez to send the match to penalties.
Hector Bellerin, Matteo Guendouzi, Martinelli and Maitland-Niles held their nerve in the shoot-out but Kelleher saved from Ceballos to allow Jones to score the winner at the Kop end.
What does it mean? Klopp's focus is clear
A Liverpool team showing 11 changes from Sunday's 2-1 win over Tottenham told its own story: Klopp's priority is the Premier League, but his young charges showed their mettle.
Martinelli stakes his claim - again
A second EFL Cup start for Martinelli delivered a second brace in the competition from the 18-year-old forward who is showing the kind of promise that could see him regularly involved in the Premier League before long.
Mustafi looks rusty
Yet to feature in a Premier League starting line-up for Arsenal this season, Mustafi failed to show his quality on a night when Emery was counting on his experience.
Key Opta stats
- Liverpool conceded five goals in a home match for only the second time in the last 66 years - the other occasion was also against Arsenal, in a 6-3 defeat in the League Cup in January 2007.
- This was the highest-scoring match in the League Cup since a 6-6 draw between Dagenham & Redbridge and Brentford in August 2014.
- Liverpool vs Arsenal is now the highest-scoring fixture in the history of the League Cup, with 47 goals scored in their 15 meetings.
- Liverpool has won more penalty shoot-outs in the League Cup than any other team in the history of the competition (eight).
- Only two Premier League teams have conceded more home goals in all competitions this season than Liverpool (13 goals conceded) – Norwich City (14) and Southampton (19).
- This was the first time a team managed by Jurgen Klopp have conceded five goals in a home game since September 2009, when his Borussia Dortmund side lost 5-1 to Bayern Munich in a Bundesliga game.
- Gabriel Martinelli has found the net in all four of his starts for Arsenal in all competitions, scoring seven goals; the Brazilian is the top-scoring teenager for a club in the top-five European leagues this season.
- Since his debut for Arsenal in September 2013, Mesut Ozil has assisted 70 goals for the Gunners in all competitions – 28 more than any other player.
What's next?
Liverpool travels to Villa Park on Saturday as it seeks to extend its unbeaten Premier League run against Aston Villa, while on the same day Arsenal will hope to pick up a first win in three league games when it entertains Wolves.