Eden Hazard came off the bench to inspire Chelsea to a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over Liverpool at Anfield in the third round of the EFL Cup.
The Belgian international sent in a free kick for Emerson Palmieri to level, 20 minutes after Daniel Sturridge had acrobatically edged his side in front.
Hazard then produced a moment of magic to win the tie for the Blues five minutes from time, as he weaved his way into a shooting position and successfully picked out the bottom corner.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the EFL Cup tie between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield. The pick of the third-round fixtures takes place on Merseyside this evening as the Reds - eight-time winners of this competition - take on another fellow unbeaten Premier League side. Something has to give over the next few hours, with penalties there to separate the teams if needed.
The Reds head into this match sitting at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a perfect start to their season, which extends to victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last week. The Blues dropped points in their most recent league outing, having failed to break down West Ham United in a goalless draw, so they will be keen to get back to winning ways on enemy territory tonight.
LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Matip, Moreno; Fabinho, Milner, Keita; Shaqiri, Sturridge, Mane
SUBS: Grabara, Firmino, Salah, Gomez, Henderson, Solanke, Jones
Starting with a look at the home team news, Jurgen Klopp has handed a full debut to summer signing Fabinho. The £43m Brazilian midfielder has accumulated just one minute in a Liverpool shirt to date in competition matches, with his solitary appearance coming at the very end of last week's 3-2 win over PSG here. Fabinho is thrown in from the off tonight, however, alongside fellow new recruit Naby Keita and the ever reliable James Milner.
Fabinho is one of five Liverpool players making their first start of the season this evening, with that list also including goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. Klopp confirmed on the eve of this match that the Belgium international would be used for this third-round tie - his first appearance for the Reds since the end of January, having slipped behind Loris Karius and then Alisson Becker. This provides a rare chance for Mignolet to impress.
Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno are also handed their first starts of 2018-19, with Joel Matip the only defensive survivor from the 3-0 win over Southampton here on Saturday. Matip is just one of just three survivors throughout the side, in fact, as Sadio Mane and Xherdan Shaqiri are also retained. A tad surprising to see Mane from the off, while Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah are also included in the matchday squad.
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Caballero; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill, Emerson; Fabregas, Kovacic, Barkley; Moses, Morata, Willian
SUBS: Bulka, Luiz, Zappacosta, Kante, Jorginho, Hazard, Hudson-Odoi
Chelsea also make eight changes to their starting lineup, retaining only Cesar Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic and Willian from the 0-0 draw with West Ham three days ago. It means a first outing of any sort since the Community Shield for Willy Caballero, while Cesc Fabregas is being eased back to fitness and Ross Barkley is back involved. There is no Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the squad, though, due to an injury problem.
There is also no room in the squad for Ethan Ampadu to the disappointment of many Chelsea fans - many wanted to see him start in defensive midfield tonight on the back of his stellar displays for Wales last month. There is further disappointment in attack, too, as Victor Moses - no longer a wing-back these days - is preferred to Callum Hudson-Odoi, although the youngster is at least on the bench.
Pedro and Antonio Rudiger join Loftus-Cheek in missing out on the squad due to injury issues. There is a big evening ahead of Gary Cahill in the heart of defence, having so far had just one cameo appearance from the bench this season, with Andreas Christensen alongside him also looking to force his way into Maurizio Sarri's plans. Emerson Palmieri's inclusion means a welcome breather for Marcos Alonso, meanwhile, and Alvaro Morata returns through the middle in the last of those changes.
Jurgen Klopp and Maurizio Sarri make eight changes apiece for this EFL Cup third-round tie. The big news is that Fabinho makes his full debut for Liverpool, a week on from being given his first minute - singular, not plural - in the win over Paris Saint-Germain here. Among those to come in for Chelsea are Cesc Fabregas, Ross Barkley and Gary Cahill.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Liverpool have won only two of their last 14 encounters with Chelsea in all competitions, drawing seven and losing the other five, with both of those victories coming at Stamford Bridge. This will be their 57th meeting since the turn of the millennium, making this the most contested fixture in English football in that time.
This will also mark the eighth time that the heavyweight clubs have faced off in the EFL Cup, but not since November 2000 have they met at this stage - Liverpool coming out on top that day through goals from Danny Murphy and Robbie Fowler in a 2-1 win here. The Reds will be considered favourites to progress through tonight, too, having made a perfect start to their domestic and European campaign.
Klopp's men were tipped as serious contenders for the Premier League title before a ball was kicked and they have more than lived up to the hype. Six games played in the top flight and six wins, overcoming West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton during that perfect run to kick things off. Furthermore, 17 goals have been scored and just two conceded.
It is fair to say that Liverpool are looking the real deal early on, then, much in the same was as Manchester City did 12 months ago after spending big in the summer window. Klopp, like Pep Guardiola before him, has been given financial backing to bring in the exact players he needed, and now anything less than a serious title charge will be considered a huge disappointment for Liverpool and their supporters.
Liverpool also edged out PSG 3-2 here last week to get their Champions League campaign up and running with three group points, leaving them on course for success on multiple fronts. This is their first domestic cup outing of the campaign, and while the EFL Cup is often at the bottom of the list of priorities for heavyweight clubs, Klopp is certainly not disregarding it completely. Silverware is silverware, at the end of the day.
It has now been six years, soon to be seven, since Liverpool last lifted a trophy of any sort. That came in the 2012 EFL Cup when beating Cardiff City on penalties in the Wembley final - the eighth time that they have gone all the way in this competition. That puts them out in front of every other club, with Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Manchester City all stuck on five wins apiece.
Liverpool are also four-time runners-up in the EFL Cup, most recently losing in the 2015-16 final to Man City. The Reds will be aiming to go one better than that this time around, with some reporters evening asking Klopp yesterday if a quadruple could be on. As you would expect, the German played down talk of a clean sweep of trophies - "impossible" was the right word - and instead he will take it one game at a time.
Klopp also mentioned ahead of this game that he is very happy with his squad depth, stating that he would field a "very strong" starting lineup today. Even with the eight changes from Saturday's 3-0 win over Southampton, this is still a hugely talented XI. We saw Shaqiri and Matip step up when called upon against the Saints four days ago, and Daniel Sturridge has also made the most of his rare opportunities.
That squad depth could come in handy as Liverpool travel to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday and then head to Napoli for their next Champions League outing. If this current run was not daunting enough, they then welcome Manchester City to Anfield in their final home outing before the two-week international break. Klopp has settled on his solid core of players, but there are still some places up for grabs on a weekly basis.
A few more Premier League sides dropped out of the EFL Cup last night, including second favourites Manchester United. The Red Devils were stunned by Derby County at Old Trafford, as they exited at the first-round stage for the first time in a decade with a penalty-shootout defeat. Come 10pm tonight, one of Liverpool or Chelsea will join them in leaving the competition earlier than they would have hoped.
DID YOU KNOW? Liverpool have lost their last three EFL Cup matches without scoring a goal - their worst run in the competition. The Reds lost both legs of their semi-final against Southampton in early 2017 and were knocked out by Leicester City just over 12 months ago, but not since between 1989 and 1990 have they been dumped out at this stage in successive seasons.
Chelsea, themselves unbeaten in seven matches this term, will be looking to extend Liverpool's disappointing recent run in the EFL Cup. Klopp has been hugely impressed by the manner of Sarri's transformation job at Stamford Bridge in so little time, having turned the Blues into the pass masters of English football inside just two months. Sarri warned it could take four months before his side clicked into gear, but that happened pretty much from the off.
The Blues defeated Huddersfield Town 3-0, Arsenal 3-2, Newcastle United 2-1, Bournemouth 2-0 and Cardiff City 4-1, before being held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham United on Sunday. That clash at the London Stadium came hot on the heels of Chelsea's first Europa League outing of the campaign, and it was clear to see that they were not at their sharpest in East London, just as Sarri had feared.
Sarri surprised many with the small amount of changes made for the trip to PAOK last week, where Chelsea managed to grind out a 1-0 win in Greece. There are already signs of fatigue and the Blues now have two testing matches in quick succession, as they face Liverpool in a cup and league double-header. There is also a trip to Southampton to factor in before the international break, as well as the visit of Vidi in the Europa League.
Former Napoli boss Sarri has attempted to rule Chelsea out of the title race, claiming that last season's gap on Manchester City is too big to make up, combined with the strides being made by Klopp at Liverpool. There are clear parallels between this Chelsea side and the class of two years ago, however, when storming to the Premier League title in Antonio Conte's first campaign in charge.
Chelsea have progressed into the fourth round of the EFL Cup seven years in a row, ever since losing 4-3 to Newcastle United in 2010. None of the last eight Chelsea managers to have managed in this competition have lost their first match in charge, meanwhile, with that run stretching back 18 years to the Claudio Ranieri era. This is a competition the Blues tend to do well in.
The West London outfit are five-time winners of the EFL Cup, in fact, with their most recent triumph coming three years ago during Jose Mourinho's second stint in charge. Chelsea have also added a couple of Premier League titles and one FA Cup to their collection since then, whereas opponents Liverpool have not won anything since 2012. For all the Reds' promise and potential, they lag a long way behind the Blues in terms of modern-day success.
PRE-MATCH COMMENTS!
Jurgen Klopp: "It's the biggest change I ever saw in such a short space of time. Wow. The style is completely different. What a manager he is, to be honest. I'm pretty much a supporter of his since I saw him playing at Naples. Outstanding football, and now doing it in a very interrupted pre-season."
Maurizio Sarri: "They have worked with the same coach for four years. I think Liverpool are ahead of us. We have started to work all together 35, 40 days ago. So for us I think it's a bit early. We have to work. We need to improve and then maybe in one year we will be at the same level as Liverpool."
Klopp was full of praise for Sarri on the eve of tonight's match, admitting that he has been blown away by the Italian's ability to turn things around at Chelsea in such a short space of time, particularly having arrived late in the summer and with half his squad absent. Sarri admits that his side still have a long way to go before being on a par with Liverpool, though, as they are nearly into their fourth year under Klopp.
KICKOFF: Chelsea get us up and running at Anfield in the pick of the EFL Cup third-round ties. A reminder that there will be no extra time this evening, while VAR is in use and can be called upon by the officials should it be needed.
The Blues have made a positive start to the game, going direct from kickoff and almost creating an early shooting opportunity for Ross Barkley. There are three players making their first start of the season for Chelsea this evening, five for Liverpool.
SAVE! The visitors have certainly started the brighter here. Having almost got in behind a couple of times, Victor Moses earns his side a corner. Andreas Christensen met the set piece cleanly, but his header was too central and Mignolet grabbed it.
SAVE! Liverpool's turn to get an early shot on goal, with Naby Keita letting fly from a fair way out. It was simple enough for Willy Caballero to deal with down the middle, ending what was the Reds' first real attacking move of the contest.
Chelsea finding plenty of gaps to exploit in these opening 10 minutes. Still just that one Christensen header on target, but it is undoubtedly the Blues who are looking the more likely to make a breakthrough on Merseyside.
The Blues win themselves a free kick 25 yards from goal, which Emerson Palmieri leaves for Willian to take. It was a disappointing attempt in the end, with the ball rising over the wall but failing to substantially dip before reaching the stands.
A beautiful little turn from Xherdan Shaqiri, but he could not get a shot away on target at the end of it. The ball then came back into the box and Naby Keita felt that Cesc Fabregas handled it, but replays show that it skimmed his fingers at most.
SHOT! Ross Barkley has a go from all of 30 yards, only to send the ball swerving well wide of the target. The former Everton man is finding gaps in the final third, though, which is surely a bit of a concern for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
SAVE! Chelsea starting to turn the screw a tad now, with Willian registering his side's second attempt on target - an easy one for Simon Mignolet down the middle. The visitors are edging possession, too, 51% to 49%. A good showing from Sarri's men.
Liverpool just have not got going at all this evening. Chelsea have been the better side, already registering four attempts - two of those on Simon Mignolet's target. The home fans now urging their team on, as they are under the cosh.
CHANCE! The best chance of the contest so far comes and goes for Alvaro Morata. The deep pass from Cesc Fabregas was sublime, and the run from his compatriot was not bad either. Morata could not lift the ball over Mignolet, though, and he sent the ball across the face of goal from the rebound.
SAVE! Another opportunity for Alvaro Morata, which he once again fails to make the most of. The Spaniard cut inside but the angle was against him, firing the ball pretty much right at Simon Mignolet at his near post. Chelsea really should be in front.
YELLOW CARD! James Milner cuts across Emerson Palmieri to halt the full-back's run and becomes the first player to be shown a yellow card by Kevin Friend. Willian's deep free kick is promising, but a number of players went too early and were flagged offside.
Nearly a third of the match played and Chelsea have been pretty dominant. Both sides have made eight changes to their starting lineups, but it is the visitors who have looked the brighter at Anfield pretty much from the first whistle.
YELLOW CARD! Joel Matip pulls back on the shirt of Mateo Kovacic - one of the rare survivors on the field from both sides' last outings - and is shown the game's second yellow card. Liverpool are chasing shadows in midfield and will be grateful to still be level.
Cesar Azpilicueta catches Sadio Mane in the back with his arm, leading to a short stoppage in play. Alberto Moreno collided with Victor Moses a little earlier, meanwhile, and is currently limping around the field. Klopp will be watching that situation closely.
PENALTY APPEAL! Liverpool have seen more of the ball over the past three or four minutes. From a rare attacking move into the opposition box, Naby Keita appeared to go down under contact from Gary Cahill, but replays show that the Englishman pulled out of the challenge before contact could be made.
Another half a shout for a Liverpool penalty, once again against Cesc Fabregas for an alleged handball. This one definitely hit him on the arm, but he was about two yards from Andreas Christensen when the defender blasted the ball at him - good call from the officials.
SAVE! Liverpool, second best for a good half an hour, are now the team on top at Anfield. Naby Keita is looking lively all of a sudden, driving towards the box and then cutting onto his right to force Willy Caballero into a good save.
It has been an enjoyable first half at Anfield, albeit a half lacking goals. Chelsea have had the better of things on the whole, but it is Liverpool who are currently on top as we approach the midway point on Merseyside.
SAVE! Liverpool are looking far brighter now. Daniel Sturridge wins back the ball for the home side and feeds it to Xherdan Shaqiri on the right, who in turn picks out a free Sadio Mane in the centre. Mane's header was a good one, but Willy Caballero got down to keep it out.
It has been a half of two halves at Anfield! Chelsea are now the side struggling to get any sort of foothold on the match, relying on their back-up goalkeeper to keep them on level terms. Half time is now just a couple of minutes away here.
Alberto Moreno, now seemingly over that knock he picked up early in the match, attempts to return to ball into the middle but Willy Caballero had a comfortable catch to make. Chelsea have had 61% of possession in this first half, incidentally.
HALF TIME: LIVERPOOL 0-0 CHELSEA
Daniel Sturridge would have been in on goal had he controlled the pass fizzed into his path, a minute or so after Xherdan Shaqiri fired the ball wide from a good position on the edge of the box. Both sides have had chances in the first half, which has ultimately ended goalless.
The teams showed eight changes apiece from their most recent league outings, with full Liverpool debutant Fabinho one of eight players on the field making their first start of the season. Chelsea started by far the better of the sides and bossed possession throughout the first half, but they could not take advantage of their early dominance.
Andreas Christensen picked out Simon Mignolet with his headed chance and Willian did not do much better with his strike from further out. The visitors were coming out on top in the midfield battle, largely thanks to the work of Cesc Fabregas to pull the strings from deep. A deep pass from the Spaniard found the run of compatriot Alvaro Morata a quarter of the way through, but the out-of-form striker could not lift the ball over Mignolet from the one-on-one position.
Morata was unable to squeeze in the rebound from a tight position, and he was thwarted by Mignolet - in for his first Liverpool appearance since January - from the game's next big opportunity. Liverpool had just a weak Naby Keita attempt to show for their efforts up until that point, but the momentum soon swung their way and they will feel as aggrieved as their opponents not to have taken a lead into the break.
Either side of having three weak penalty calls rejected, two of which were for handball from Fabregas, Willy Caballero had to be alert to keep out Keita and Sadio Mane. Mane peeled away from his marker and looked for the bottom corner with his header, but back-up stopper Caballero watched it all the way and ensured that the sides went into the break all square.
LIVERPOOL SUBS: Grabara, Firmino, Salah, Gomez, Henderson, Solanke, Jones
CHELSEA SUBS: Bulka, Luiz, Zappacosta, Kante, Jorginho, Hazard, Hudson-Odoi
KICKOFF: Liverpool get us back under way at Anfield, where neither manager has made any changes at the interval in terms of personnel. The Reds ended the opening 45 minutes on top, but it was Chelsea who edged things on the whole.
CHANCE! This is an extraordinary miss from Daniel Sturridge, so early in the second half. Andreas Christensen did not realise the striker was lurking behind him and played him clean through on goal, but Caballero got a hand to the ball to force Sturridge away from goal and he then slotted it wide of pretty much an empty net.
CHANCE! That really was a dreadful miss form Sturridge - it has to go down as an open goal, really. Up the other end, Willian's outside-of-the-boot pass is right on the money, but Alvaro Morata could only head it over the frame of the goal.
YELLOW CARD! The yellow cards are coming thick and fast this evening. Kevin Friend reaches into his pocket for the third time tonight, with Mateo Kovacic the latest to be penalised after hauling down Xherdan Shaqiri from behind.
SAVE! Chelsea are seriously hanging on here. Ross Barkley is the latest visiting player to put his side under pressure, heading the ball back towards goal for Sadio Mane to meet it, but the Senegalese forward's shot hit the foot of Caballero and went wide.
James Milner got on the end of a long ball forward and flicked it goalwards, but even if it was on target Willy Caballero was able to collect it. The Reds are dominating things now, forcing their opponents into errors as they close in on an opener.
CHELSEA SUB! Fabinho is the latest player to enter Kevin Friend's notebook for a foul on Alvaro Morata near the halfway line. The first change of the contest is made - Eden Hazard is brought on for Willian in attack.
GOAL! LIVERPOOL 1-0 CHELSEA (DANIEL STURRIDGE)
That is how you make amends for a terrible miss! Fifteen minutes after missing an open goal, Daniel Sturridge's overhead kick edges Liverpool in front. Naby Keita's shot was parried by Willy Caballero, and the striker was waiting to pounce 12 yards out.
Jordan Henderson was brought on for James Milner in the aftermath of that Liverpool opener - a change that Klopp was looking to make before Daniel Sturridge's opener. A nice finish from the striker against the club he spent four years with.
A little over 25 minutes for Chelsea to respond. The Blues were on top in the first half but have been pegged further and further back in the second, with that Liverpool opener coming directly through asserting pressure in the final third.
CHELSEA SUB! Ross Barkley would have been through on goal had his ball control not let him down. Here comes Chelsea's second change, as N'Golo Kante takes over from Mateo Kovacic in the centre of the Blues' midfield three.
Chelsea just cannot grab a foothold on the game in this second half. Liverpool have pushed on since scoring that goal, knocking the ball around with ease as they look for a killer second. Salah and Firmino will not be needed at this rate.
Liverpool toiling away at the moment, remaining on top of the game without really creating much of anything. They are eating up the minutes, though, as Chelsea have themselves failed to do much in front of goal in the 12 minutes since conceding.
LIVERPOOL SUB! It was always going to be a case of when, rather than if, Sadio Mane would make way in this second. We now have our answer as, with a little under 20 minutes to go here, Roberto Firmino has been introduced.
Kante is actually on the right side of Chelsea's midfield three, as has been the case for the majority of this season, where we do not really see the best of his qualities. The Blues are struggling to get star man Eden Hazard involved at the moment.
CHELSEA SUB! Andreas Christensen appears to have picked up a knock, so Chelsea's final change is an enforced one as David Luiz comes on - disappointment for Callum Hudson-Odoi. Jurgen Klopp still has one available sub to make.
I can't recall a chance or indeed a shot of any note since Liverpool edged in front. The Reds have managed to keep their opponents at arm's length since Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring through a smart scissor-kick finish 58 minutes in.
Eden Hazard finally gets a few touches of the ball, but his link-up play with Alvaro Morata does not quite pay off - we already know he prefers playing with Olivier Giroud up top. Into the final 10 minutes and the Blues not really look like scoring.
GOAL! LIVERPOOL 1-1 CHELSEA (EMERSON PALMIERI)
Emerson Palmieri pounces to bring Chelsea back on level terms at Anfield! Eden Hazard's free kick was glanced on goal by Ross Barkley, and it was Palmieri who was quickest to the loose ball to poke it over the line.
VAR IN USE! I jumped the gun a little too early... the VAR officials spent a good couple of minutes reviewing the goal, as Alvaro Morata was offside. The Spaniard was stood by Barkley, who made the telling contact before Emerson pounced. As it is, the goal stands.
OFF THE BAR! Daniel Sturridge unleashes a shot from 22 yards, which dips over Willy Caballero and hits the top of the crossbar. This has been a gripping game from start to finish, and as things stand we are heading towards penalties. Liverpool will be kicking themselves that they have failed to see things through, having looked so comfortable for 20 minutes.
GOAL! GOAL! LIVERPOOL 1-2 CHELSEA (EDEN HAZARD)
WOW! This is quite something from the Premier League's best player. Eden Hazard picks up the ball 50 yards from goal and exchanges passes with a teammate, before taking it past one opposition man, past another and then shooting into the bottom corner of the net. Unbelievable finish from the Belgian.
LIVERPOOL SUB! A fierce Eden Hazard shot into the bottom corner from 15 yards out has given Chelsea a lead for the first time tonight. Mohamed Salah is now on for Fabinho for the closing stages - Liverpool are in desperate need of a goal.
YELLOW CARD! Victor Moses is cautioned, seemingly for dissent towards referee Kevin Friend. We are into the first of five added-on minutes at the end of the match. Liverpool cannot catch a break at the moment, and their cup run is edging to a conclusion.
Home fans are urging their side on, sensing another late twist at Anfield. This has been a brilliant cup tie, only aided by the brilliance of matchwinner Eden Hazard. Chelsea still have another 120 seconds to see through on Merseyside...
FULL TIME: LIVERPOOL 1-2 CHELSEA
CHELSEA THROUGH TO FOURTH ROUND OF EFL CUP!
Eden Hazard comes off the bench to inspire Chelsea to a 2-1 comeback win over Liverpool at Anfield. The Belgium international sent in a free kick for Emerson Palmieri to level, 20 minutes after Daniel Sturridge had opened the scoring for the hosts, before producing a moment of magic late on with a goal of the highest quality to win the third-round tie on his own.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from Merseyside. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, and you can continue to follow updates of the La Liga clash between Sevilla and Real Madrid right here. Thanks for joining!
