Brighton 2-3 Liverpool: Gakpo brace sends holders through in thriller

Cody Gakpo scored twice as Liverpool beat Brighton 3-2 in a thriller at the Amex Stadium to book a place in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.

The Dutchman's unstoppable strike 38 seconds into the second half gave the holders the lead in Wednesday's tie, and he added a second just after the hour mark.

Luis Diaz restored Liverpool's two-goal cushion after Simon Adingra pulled one back, only for Tariq Lamptey to net another for Brighton in a gripping finale, but the visitors held on for a 12th win in 14 games under Arne Slot.

Vitezslav Jaros was handed a full Liverpool debut as both sides made eight changes ahead of facing each other in the league in three days' time, and the goalkeeper produced a good save to deny Lamptey from the best chance of the first half.

After an ultimately goalless opening 45 minutes, it took Gakpo less than a minute to open the scoring after the restart as he cut in from the left and curled the ball out of Jason Steele's reach from just inside the box.

After Jaros produced a fine save to push Adingra's header onto the post, and Liverpool completely wasted a three-on-one counter, Gakpo drilled a second past Steele at his near post after outmuscling Lamptey.

Adingra set up a nervy finale when reacting quickest to a spilt Jaros save, which the Reds reacted to with Diaz's well-taken strike inside the box, but that was only a temporary reprieve.

However, Lamptey's goal - via a deflection off Jarell Quansah - proved to be nothing more than a consolation for Brighton as they fell just short of a dramatic comeback.

Data Debrief: Gakpo keeps up impressive record

Gakpo had scored more EFL Cup goals than any other player (six) since the start of last season heading into Wednesday's action and added two more to his tally.

That brace ensured Liverpool made it three wins from three against Brighton in this competition, the previous two victories coming in 1985-86 and 2011-12.

As a result, the Reds avoid becoming the fourth successive holders of this cup to exit at the fourth-round stage.