Chelsea were dumped out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round by Liverpool after a match decided by no less than 20 penalty kicks.

The scores were level at the break after a pair of penalties were dispatched by Morgan Rogers and Cody Gakpo, and an end-to-end second half could not separate the two sides.

Liverpool were on the brink of victory after Valentin Barco missed his own spot-kick, but sudden death was required as Kostas Tsimikas ballooned a potential winner into the Kop end.

But this dramatic shootout had more twists in store as Mike Penders and Giorgi Mamardashvili saved from Ryan Gravenberch and Emmanuel Emegha, and the affair was settled when Wesley Fofana launched his own penalty over the crossbar.

Standard Sport’s Arthur Ferridge was on hand to rate the Chelsea players’ performances at Anfield...

Mike Penders 8

Had plenty to do if he were to prove his gaffes against Tottenham were merely blips. Made a wonderful reaction save to deny Ronald Araujo on the hour mark, and another to foil Bradley Barcola shortly after. A huge improvement from the young Belgian, though his distribution still needs a lot of work. Made one save in the shootout, denying Ryan Gravenberch in sudden death.

Josh Acheampong 5

Given a torrid time by his former academy-mate Rio Ngumoha, who gave him the runaround throughout the evening and eventually earned him a yellow card. Put in a fabulous block to deny Barcola an open goal. Made a number of threatening forward runs.

Wesley Fofana 3

Inexplicably raised his hand over his head in defending a corner, handling the ball and conceding a penalty from which Liverpool equalised. Had otherwise coped well with the hosts’ press and defended reasonably well. Missed the decisive spot kick.

Wesley Fofana

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Maxence Lacroix 6

Enjoyed a busy first half of solid defending before appearing to injure his hamstring just before the break, which forced him off. Impressed a lung-busting recovery run to deny Cody Gakpo an early shooting chance, but pulled up as he looked to repeat the trick.

Malo Gusto 3

A badly misplaced pass to Fofana gifted Liverpool a corner before the break. Could not contend with Lewis Koumas, who mercilessly exposed the Frenchman’s lack of physical prowess, in terms of both strength and pace. Put on a display of disgraceful playacting after a distinctly innocuous ‘coming-together’ with Virgil van Dijk. All in all, vindicated Alonso’s decision to leave him on the bench so often in recent weeks.

Moises Caicedo 4

Off the boil throughout. Got a talking-to for his heavy tackles early doors. Attempted a number of creative through-balls, few if any of which came off. Did well to win a first-half penalty from Ryan Gravenberch, but that incident said more about the Liverpool party than it did Caicedo.

Romeo Lavia 7

Hardly skipped a beat as he started in Chelsea’s midfield for the first time since the draw with Hull in early September. Covered a lot of ground and limited the influence of Gravenberch and Nyoni. Remarkably composed on the ball. Joined several of his team-mates in being booked for a foul on Ngumoha. Scored coolly from the spot.

Romeo Lavia

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Jordan Henderson 6

Starting his fifth match in a row, continued to lead the press with real vigour against his former club.

Pedro Neto 5

A quiet evening for the Portuguese. Enjoyed a couple of half-chances, but his most notable contribution was a theatric challenge which sent Ngumoha base over apex in the early stages. Converted coolly in the shootout.

Morgan Rogers 4

Relatively quiet in open play, but moments of clumsy footwork saw multiple chances go begging. Lacking the assistance of Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, seemed unsure of how to attack the Liverpool goal. Dispatched a tidy first-half penalty to put Chelsea in front, and another in the shootout.

Struggled to get the better of Virgil van Dijk, who marshalled him all night to the point he struggled even to string passes together, much less chances.

Substitutes:

Levi Colwill (Lacroix ‘45) 6

Came on at short notice in place of the stricken Lacroix, but slotted into the game with composure. His firm block denied Florian Wirtz what likely would have been a late winner.

Emmanuel Emegha (Welbeck ‘68) 5

Bizarrely and needlessly clattered Van Dijk off the ball moments into his Chelsea debut, and did not do an awful lot else.

Valentin Barco (Caicedo ‘68) 5

A breath of fresh air when he came on, as he injected much-needed energy and creativity into the Chelsea midfield. Helped Blues get back on top in the latter stages. Hit the post in the shootout.

Marco Palestra (Gusto ‘68) 6

Drew a strong stop from Mamardashvili 15 minutes from time. Otherwise, a quiet cameo.

Unused: Sharman-Lowe, Suboloye, Nicoll-Jazuli, Estevao, Quenda