Liverpool have drawn Aston Villa in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, having booked their place with a remarkable victory over Arsenal at Anfield.
An own goal from Shkodran Mustafi, a penalty from James Milner, an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stunner and a brace from Divock Origi provided a crazy 5-5 draw in normal time.
This led to a penalty shootout decided by a save from Caoimhin Kelleher and a calm winner from Curtis Jones, sparking wild scenes from Jurgen Klopp and his young side.
They could get another chance to impress as Liverpool reached the quarter-finals, and in Thursday morning’s draw they were pitted away to Villa.
However, the Reds will be in Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup when the ties are scheduled to be played, so it remains to be seen when they will face off against Dean Smith’s Villans.
It adds another fixture to an increasingly congested campaign for Liverpool, and Klopp addressed the situation in his post-match press conference.
“I’m not concerned, somebody else has to be concerned, because we didn’t make the fixtures, we didn’t make the schedule,” he told reporters.
“FIFA told us the Club World Cup would be then, we have to come there, so we do.
“The Premier League tells us we have to play the Premier League, which we do obviously, and the Carabao Cup, which we did tonight.
“If they don’t find a place for us, an appropriate place, not 3am on Christmas Day, then we don’t play.”
An EFL statement confirmed: “The EFL is in discussions with Liverpool FC to identify an alternative date.”
The League Cup semi-final first-leg is scheduled for the week beginning January 6, and Liverpool already have a midweek and weekend fixture every week leading up to then.
Full Quarter-Final Draw
Oxford United vs. Man City
Man United vs. Colchester United
Aston Villa vs. Liverpool
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