Both goals were penalties three minutes apart, chances were few, and a Liverpool side with four academy starters won the shootout 6–5.
The numbers
| Liverpool | Chelsea | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 52% | 48% |
| Shots | 10 | 11 |
| On target | 4 | 4 |
| xG | 1.95 | 1.79 |
| Touches in opp. box | 20 | 20 |
| Corners | 7 | 5 |
Result the chances deserved: Liverpool 42% / 21% / Chelsea 36% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili, Gomez, Araújo, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Nyoni, Koumas, McConnell, Ngumoha, Gakpo.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Penders, Acheampong, Lacroix, Fofana, Gusto, Caicedo, Lavia, Henderson, Neto, Welbeck, Rogers.
Chelsea subs: Colwill (45+1', Lacroix, injured), Barco, Emegha & Palestra (68', for Caicedo, Welbeck & Gusto) (FotMob, ESPN). Emegha made his Chelsea debut. Chelsea coach: Xabi Alonso.
Booked: Koumas (11'), McConnell (21'), Acheampong (50', foul on Ngumoha), Lavia (73') (FotMob, ESPN). Attendance 60,214 (FotMob, Liverpool FC). Liverpool FC has Rogers' penalty at 38'; FotMob, ESPN and Sky Sports have 40'. Stats from FotMob; shots on target and corners from ESPN.
Shootout: Liverpool: Mac Allister ✓, Isak ✓, Gakpo ✓, Wirtz ✓, Tsimikas over, Barcola ✓, Gravenberch saved, Gomez ✓. Chelsea: Neto ✓, Rogers ✓, Lavia ✓, Barco hit the post, Henderson ✓, Colwill ✓, Emegha saved by Mamardashvili, Fofana over. Liverpool won 6–5 in the third round of sudden death (ESPN; misses also in Sky Sports, Chelsea FC).
Key moments, move by move
- Gusto's reverse pass finds Caicedo in Liverpool's box, and he takes it away from goal (Chelsea FC, Sky Sports).
- Gravenberch lunges in from behind and catches him: penalty (ESPN).
- Rogers sends it into the right corner (Liverpool FC).
- Nyoni's volley is deflected behind for a corner (ESPN).
- Tsimikas swings it in, and in the scramble Fofana raises his arm: penalty (Sky Sports, ESPN).
- Gakpo drives it low to Penders' left: a powerful low finish (Liverpool FC, ESPN).
Four academy starters, a strong Chelsea, and very few chances
- Who played. Iraola made seven changes and started four young players: Nyoni, Ngumoha, McConnell and Koumas (Sky Sports). FotMob has a 4-2-3-1 with Gomez at right-back, Araújo and Van Dijk in the middle, Gravenberch and Nyoni in front of them and Gakpo up front. Alonso picked a strong 4-3-3, with Caicedo, Lavia and Henderson in midfield.
- Few chances. Liverpool had 10 shots to Chelsea's 11, and 20 touches in the opposition box each (FotMob). Iraola: "not a lot of chances for both teams"; Alonso: "There were not many chances for both sides." Ngumoha was Liverpool's outlet on the left: Acheampong was booked for fouling him at 50' (ESPN).
- Three minutes, two penalties. At 40' Gravenberch lunged from behind at Caicedo, who was heading away from goal, and Rogers scored (ESPN, Sky Sports). At 43' Fofana raised his arm in the box after Tsimikas' corner and Gakpo equalised (Sky Sports). ESPN called both penalties needless.
- The change at 59'. Wirtz and Barcola replaced McConnell and Koumas, and Liverpool's best chances followed: Araújo's header saved at 61', Barcola's shot saved at 65', Wirtz unable to finish from close range at 80' (Sky Sports). Chelsea's best was Palestra's low shot at 78', saved by Mamardashvili, who then saved Emegha's kick in the shootout.
Recreate it in FM26
Liverpool · Iraola's rotated 4-2-3-1 against Chelsea · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Iraola's rotated 4-2-3-1 against Chelsea
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Mamardashvili | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RB | Gomez | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RCB | Araújo | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Van Dijk | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Tsimikas | Wing-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Gravenberch | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Nyoni | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Koumas | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| AM | McConnell | Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Ngumoha | Winger | Wide Outlet Winger |
| ST | Gakpo | Centre Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- Attacking WidthWider
- DribblingEncouraged
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Defensive TransitionRegroup
- TacklingAggressive
The idea: A rotated side that keeps the shape simple: a mid block with two holding midfielders, a Wide Outlet Winger to carry the ball out on one side, and a forward who can also drop. You need holding midfielders who don't dive in near their own box.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce a game decided by two penalties and a shootout, or the effect of bringing the senior attackers on at 59'.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Wirtz & Barcola on at 46' (Koumas, McConnell), Isak on at 59' (for Gakpo). Keep the shape and the young starters for the first half, then bring the senior attackers on at the break and Isak on the hour. It gives Liverpool a better chance to win in 90 minutes; it doesn't remove the risk of the penalty Gravenberch gave away. It moves Liverpool's win chance from 42% to 50% (xG 1.95–1.79 becomes 2.30–1.79). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Liverpool needed
Alexander Isak
Liverpool had 20 touches in Chelsea's box and only four shots on target. Isak, with six league goals before the game, plays on the last defender and attacks the box; Gakpo's best effort of the first half was a drive from distance (Liverpool FC).
Pascal Groß
Open-play chances were rare and Liverpool's goal came from a corner. Groß's dead-ball delivery adds a route against a side that has conceded eight league goals from set pieces (Opta Analyst), and he passes calmly under pressure from a midfield three.
What the analysts said
“I think it was quite a level game. Very competitive, not a lot of chances for both teams.”Andoni Iraola (Sky Sports)
“They showed us they had a very good level and they helped us a lot.”Andoni Iraola on the young players, to Sky Sports (Goal)
“I think Giorgi was close to stopping a lot of the shots. He did a very good job.”Andoni Iraola on Mamardashvili (Goal)
“We played with courage. The game was really close; it could have gone either way.”Xabi Alonso (Chelsea FC)
“This is the least important competition for us and now the focus is on the Premier League.”Xabi Alonso (Sky Sports)
Liverpool's young side held Chelsea, and the shootout did the rest.
What's happening. Iraola made seven changes and started four academy players against a strong Chelsea side. Both goals were penalties just before half-time, and Liverpool won the shootout 6–5 for a fifth straight win in all competitions. Arsenal come to Anfield on Sunday, and the players Iraola rested will be fresh for it.
How it works. Rotating the midfield and the front line costs the patterns a side knows. The young players worked hard, but chances were few until two senior attackers came on just before the hour. Two young holding midfielders against a midfield three also get pulled into duels near their own box, and one late challenge from behind gave away a penalty. The gain is minutes for the next group and rest for the first team.
What the shots say. FotMob gives Liverpool slightly more xG, but both totals include a penalty, and the two sides were close to even on shots and touches in the box. One reading: a level cup tie, as both managers said. The other: Liverpool's best chances came after Wirtz and Barcola arrived, so the starting side made little on its own. Either way, the shootout decided it.