Xabi Alonso was quick to rally around Wesley Fofana, brushing aside a missed penalty.

Chelsea took another gut punch at Anfield, bowing out of the Carabao Cup on penalties to Liverpool after fighting to a 1–1 draw. Wesley Fofana’s blasted spot-kick sealed the exit, rubbing salt into an evening that already saw the backline take a hit with Maxence Lacroix’s injury.

Xabi Alonso addresses Wesley Fofana after Liverpool defeat

Xabi Alonso wasn’t about to let Wesley Fofana take the fall after the Anfield shootout. Instead of harping on the skied penalty, the boss went out of his way to praise his shift at the back, stressing that with bodies dropping, Fofana’s going to be huge for what’s ahead.

He said in his presser ahead of Manchester United: “With Max’s injury, we have Wes, Levi, Josh and Jorrel, when he’s back with the team. Even though he missed the penalty, I think he had a good game. He was consistent, he was strong and I saw many positives from his performance. We know the level that he has had and he’s going to be important.”

Wednesday turned into a proper horror show for Wesley Fofana, and there was simply no dodging the blame for two massive errors.

Just two minutes after Morgan Rogers buried his penalty to put Chelsea in front, Fofana inexplicably thrust an arm out in the box. Darren England pointed straight to the spot, Cody Gakpo converted, and all that hard work went down the drain.

To make matters worse, when Fofana stepped up during the shootout, he completely shanked it, launching his penalty miles into the stands to confirm Chelsea’s exit.