Liverpool came from 3-1 down to equalize against Leicester City in the 95th minute of their EFL Cup quarter-final tie before beating the Foxes on penalties. Chelsea and Tottenham also booked their place in the last four with wins over Premier League sides.
A frenzied first-half at Anfield saw Leicester Jamie Vardy score twice in the opening minutes before a goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cut the deficit by one. However, the Foxes still went into the break with a two-goal lead over a young Liverpool side, courtesy of James Maddison, whose sensational long-range effort left goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher grasping at thin air.
Jurgen Klopp wrung in the changes at half-time, and one of those players brought on, Diogo Jota, scored in the 66th minute to make it a one-goal game. The Reds piled men forward and were level in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Takumi Minamino collected a long pass from James Milner – another of the substitutes – and fired the ball into the corner.
Into the penalty shootout the match went, where the Japanese and Luke Thomas missed a kick each for either side before Ryan Bertrand failed to convert his in the sudden death round, handing the Reds the win – who will face Arsenal in the last four.
Elsewhere, Tottenham took on London rivals West Ham United and beat them 2-1 to progress to the semi-finals. Steven Bergwijn gave Spurs the lead in the 29th minute by applying the finishing touch at the end of a neat exchange with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Jarrod Bowen brought the Hammers level three minutes later with a turn and finish inside the Spurs box, but parity lasted just two minutes, as Bergwijn turned supplier for Lucas Moura at the other end. Antonio Conte’s men held onto their narrow lead for the remainder of the match and set up a semi-final clash with rivals Chelsea.
Chelsea, who beat Brentford in the quarter-finals thanks to two late goals, fielded a second-string side consisting of three debutants. Harvey Vale, Xavier Simons, and Jude Soonsup-Bell all started the game, but it was stalwarts Reece James and Jorginho – brought on in the second half – who won it for the Blues. James’ cross was turned past his goalkeeper by Pontus Jansson in the 80th minute; five minutes later, Jorginho scored from the spot to send Thomas Tuchel’s side through.
