The brilliance of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard ended Liverpool’s 100 per cent start to the season as Maurizio Sarri’s side enjoyed a 2-1 win at Anfield in the League Cup third round on Wednesday.
Liverpool have started with six wins in the Premier League and a victory in the Champions League but they were knocked out of the League Cup thanks to a superb solo goal from Hazard in the 85th minute.
Daniel Sturridge had put Liverpool in front before Emerson levelled for Chelsea in the 79th, after Simon Mignolet parried out a Ross Barkley header from a free-kick whipped in by Hazard.
The Belgian forward, a 56th-minute substitute, won the game with a devastating finish after a powerful run in from the flank, leaving two Liverpool defenders behind before firing into the far corner.
The two teams face each other at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the Premier League.
Elsewhere, West Ham romped to an 8-0 victory over Macclesfield with Robert Snodgrass, Lucas Perez, Ryan Fredericks and debutant Grady Diangana all scoring their first goals for the club.
Michail Antonio and Angelo Ogbonna were also on target as the Hammers registered their first home win of the season and their biggest victory in 35 years.
West Ham rarely make such short work of lower-league opposition in the cup competitions – the memories of defeats to Wrexham, Northampton, Stockport and Aldershot among others still linger while they trailed AFC Wimbledon after just a minute in the previous round.
They were almost behind again when Macclesfield, without a win all season, ventured forward and James Pearson’s throw-in found Harry Smith, whose close-range effort was clawed away by Adrian.
Yet that was the only moment of mild discomfort the hosts suffered all night against the Football League’s bottom club as they threatened to beat their previous record win, 10-0 against Bury in the same competition in 1983.
Spurs and Watford meanwhile played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Mauricio Pochettino’s men winning a penalty shootout 4-2 to advance.
Arsenal were also in action and survived a second-half rally from Brentford as a Danny Welbeck double proved enough to seal a place in the fourth round.
The Gunners, beaten finalists in this competition last season, were pushed all the way by a much-changed Brentford side but showed enough to advance with a 3-1 win.
At a sparsely populated Emirates Stadium – not helped by a London Underground strike – Welbeck scored twice in the first half to ensure safe progression.
The visitors were the better side after the interval and gave themselves a fighting chance of an upset courtesy of a fine Alan Judge free-kick, only for substitute Alexandre Lacazette to secure the win with a stoppage-time effort.
