One of the most dramatic matches in EFL Cup history took place on Wednesday night on Anfield as Liverpool outlasted Arsenal of penalties after 5–5 in regulation time.
The Reds took an early lead after a bad defensive reaction from Mustavi that resulted in an own goal. Arsenal leveled in the 19th minute through Torreira, while Martinelli gave Gunners the lead seven minutes later. The same player scored in the 36th minute in moments in which Liverpool’s defense seemed to be struggling a lot.
Although Martinelli set himself to be the hero for Arsenal in this game, his careless tackle prior to halftime resulted in a penalty for Liverpool, and Milner didn’t have too much trouble putting the ball behind Martinez’s back from 12 yards.
After yet another terrible defense from the home team, Arsenal scored through Maitland-Niles to give them back the two-goal advantage. Liverpool didn’t give up, however. Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the best goal of the match some 25 metres away from the target in the 58th minute.
Origi scored just four minutes later to level things up again. Willock answered on the other end with a stunning goal of his own, and Arsenal had a 4–5 lead coming in the finish.
Although it looked like Arsenal will end Liverpool’s impressive undefeated streak in domestic competitions, Origi placed a wonderful volley into the back of the net in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and we were heading into the penalty shootout.
Bellerin, Guendouzi, and Martinelli scored first three for Arsenal, while Millner, Lallana, and Brewster had no trouble scoring for Liverpool. Ceballos had an opportunity to put Arsenal only goal away from victory, but Kelleher denied him with a great save.
Origi, who scored two great goals in regulation, scored again from the white spot and got his team the first lead of the shootout. Maitland-Niles equalised, but Arsenal needed a miss from Curtis Jones to stay in this one. However, Jones put an indefensible shot near the left post, and Liverpool went through to the quarter-finals.
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