Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has done himself no favours with his comments after the club's Carabao Cup exit.

The Blues were beaten on penalties by Liverpool in the fourth round on Wednesday night.

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Wesley Fofana missed the crucial spot-kick as Alonso's side were dumped out at Anfield.

The match had finished level at 1-1 after 90 minutes after goals from Morgan Rogers and Cody Gakpo.

Following the final whistle, Alonso claimed the Carabao Cup was the least important competition for his club this season, even with the complete absence of European football.

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic believes the Spaniard was wrong to disregard the tournament in such a way.

Begovic reacts to Alonso comments

Speaking to Paul Hawksbee and Laura Kirk-Francis on talkSPORT, he was asked if he agreed with Alonso's post-match comments.

Begovic replied: "No, I wouldn’t have said that. I think especially as in his pre-match comments he was trying to take everything very seriously.

"To say that post-match won’t sit well with the Chelsea fans, knowing them the way I do. I think he’s got to be a little bit careful with that.

"I think that puts a little bit more pressure as well on the game on the weekend against Manchester United.

"If he gets a result there, things will get a little bit rosier. Definitely not the best thing to do to downplay any competition."

Begovic, who won a Premier League title during two years with Chelsea, made five League Cup appearances for the club.

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What did Alonso say?

The former Bosnia & Herzegovina international had been reacting to remarks made by Alonso immediately after the defeat to Liverpool.

Speaking at the final whistle, the Chelsea boss admitted: "It’s a small setback in this competition.

"It’s probably the least important competition for us in the year, so we need to move on.

"As soon as we leave Anfield, our focus is Saturday’s Premier League [game]. This is the main and the most important thing."

Chelsea host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with kick-off at 12.30pm, live on talkSPORT.

Their Carabao Cup exit leaves the Blues with only two trophies left to play for this season, the Premier League and the FA Cup.

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It follows their failure to qualify for any European competitions last season.

Chelsea ended the previous campaign in 10th, missing out on a Conference League berth by a single point.

Whilst they do not enter the FA Cup until January, their league campaign is firmly underway.

The Blues currently sit fifth in the table after eight matches following a 2-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.