Liverpool Round-Up, Thursday 29th October: Reds Edge Chelsea on Penalties as Arsenal Looms
Liverpool booked their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a dramatic 6-5 penalty shootout win over Xabi Alonso's Chelsea at Anfield, and the night's talking points are still being picked over. Joe Gomez scored the decisive spot-kick and had some fun with the fact it was his first goal in 319 appearances, while also sending a six-word message reacting to the win (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com). Cody Gakpo was on target in normal time and from the spot in the shootout, and afterwards praised the Anfield crowd for giving the team extra energy, saying everybody in the stands knows what it means (Liverpool Echo) (LiverpoolFC.com) (Liverpool.com). Virgil van Dijk echoed that sentiment, saying there's a feel-good factor and a changing mood around the club, and he also explained the strange shove incident involving Emmanuel Emegha, with an ex-referee chief left stunned that it went unpunished (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com) (This Is Anfield) (Liverpool.com). Florian Wirtz came in for more criticism for a frustrating moment before the shootout despite Liverpool's win (Liverpool.com), while Hugo Ekitike posted his instant reaction after watching the drama unfold from home (Liverpool.com). Xabi Alonso performed an awkward U-turn after the defeat (Liverpool.com), and the national media reaction included pointed remarks about his return to Merseyside, with The Guardian noting three more Chelsea players joined Liverpool's penalty "hall of shame" (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com) (The Guardian). Andoni Iraola felt Giorgi Mamardashvili's involvement showed the balance in his squad selection is paying off, and the Liverpool Echo also looks at how the Spaniard is starting to get the same rotation benefits previously enjoyed by Jurgen Klopp and Rafa Benitez (This Is Anfield) (Liverpool Echo). There was also insight into what the result means for Wataru Endo's future at the club (This Is Anfield), plus fresh quotes on confidence being high after another win (LiverpoolFC.com), and LFC.com have unseen footage from inside Anfield on the night (LiverpoolFC.com).
Attention quickly turned to Sunday's huge Premier League clash with Arsenal at Anfield. Referee Andy Madley has been confirmed for the match, with reports noting it will be his first traditional "big six" game in over two years (Liverpool Echo) (This Is Anfield) (Liverpool.com) (LiverpoolFC.com). On the team news front, Liverpool will be hoping to have key men back in time, with the latest fitness updates covering Dominik Szoboszlai, plus Munoz and Frimpong among others (Liverpool.com) (Liverpool Echo). Arsenal, meanwhile, have been handed a fresh setback of their own, with a key player now ruled out ahead of the trip to Anfield (Liverpool.com). There's also debate over selection, with suggestions Iraola can't afford to play it safe and might have to consider dropping Gakpo in favour of starting Rio Ngumoha (This Is Anfield), while pundits Jamie Carragher and Ian Wright were seen to disagree over their prediction for the game (Liverpool.com). Iraola's pre-match press conference will be shown live on Friday (LiverpoolFC.com).
In the cup draw, Liverpool will face former club of Iraola's, Bournemouth, in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, with the Spaniard joking "the only team I don't want is Bournemouth" (BBC Sport). It's also been described as a boost given the shape of the festive fixture list around that tie (This Is Anfield).
Elsewhere, there's been plenty of praise flying around the academy, with Rio Ngumoha hailing Trey Nyoni and declaring "the sky is the limit" for his teammate (This Is Anfield), while a separate piece argues Nyoni is now past the cameo stage and ready for regular starts (This Is Anfield). Fans also spotted several quirky moments from the Chelsea game, including a bit of karma for Van Dijk's shove and Nyoni appearing to get one over on Moises Caicedo (This Is Anfield). The U21s were out training on Thursday, with photos released from the session (LiverpoolFC.com).
On the business side, Liverpool.com report the club are set to add Andrii Fedchenkov to the recruitment department from Flamengo, working alongside Julian Ward, with his recent transfer track record at the Brazilian club also assessed (Liverpool.com) (Liverpool.com). There are also reports suggesting Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho is "particularly in favour" of trying to prise a Liverpool star away from Anfield, according to Sky Sports Germany (TeamTalk). Federico Chiesa has been urged to fix what's been called a "mistake" amid growing exit speculation, with Inter said to have made an enquiry about him, while it's also noted that Benjamin Dowman's Anfield ban has been upheld (This Is Anfield) (Liverpool.com). An ex-Liverpool player has called for the club to reconsider their stance on Alexis Mac Allister given his contract situation (Liverpool.com), and Alisson has reportedly been left in limbo over his position with the Brazil national team following a decision from Carlo Ancelotti (Liverpool.com).
Finally, fans can vote now for Liverpool's Men's Player of the Month for October (LiverpoolFC.com), and there's an injury update on the women's side covering Kerr, Woodham, Holland, Parry and Ward (LiverpoolFC.com).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.