Carabao Cup LIVE: Live score, news and updates as Liverpool hold on against Southampton after Hugo Ekitike's needless red card - and sloppy Chelsea survive against third-tier Lincoln

Arne Slot told Sky Sports when he thinks Alexander Isak will be back to his best - and who he was impressed with.

'Leoni played a very good game. It should also be about the tribute we gave Matt Beard, that is something that this game should be about, to remember him.

'For the rest, it wasnt our best game of the season. We played a new team and players who haven't played for a long time. Those things don't usually help but there were positives.

'Chiesa was great, Jones was back, Alex got his first goal, Leoni was great. But in general it wasn't our best performance.

'We're trying to build up (Isak) quicker than we would in pre-season, getting him playing as much as he can. He's available for next week when we play three games.

'He's ready for minutes. But to have the best version of him, that's after the international break when he has minutes under his belt.'

A devastated Will Still was almost apologetic after Southampton's defeat and their mistakes.

He has called for more time, naming other managers who have succeeded after being given breathing room, in an indication that he may be feeling the heat.

Don't forget, though, Will - you were playing against Liverpool!

He told Sky Sports: 'We put in an overall good performance but the way we've lost that is a summary of where we are in the league. We shot ourselves in the foot by conceding... it's just really poor.

'We missed an easy chance and they went the other end and scored. it's what we did on Saturday and in previous weeks. We need to take those mistakes out of the game.

'We reacted well, our performance was encourgaing, but we switched off for half a second and you get punished when you have Isak and Ekitike going up the other end.

'It takes time. Arsenal has taken time. Liverpool took time when Jurgen took over. Thomas Frank has time at Brentford. We've had three different squads and we're working on fnding a balance.

'There's a high priority on getting rid of those mistakes.

'I don't think anyone can put more pressure on myself than I do. I'm desperate to get it right, but football is the way it is. We're mkaing progress.

'We need to rub out our stupid mistakes and get on with it.'

I do agree with Redknapp here, I'm not sure what Ekitike was intending to do. What statement was he trying to put out by doing this?

Do I think it's an overly officious rule, though? Probably, yeah. Let him enjoy his moment.

Our very own Kieran Gill has witnessed a seething Enzo Maresca, who warned his stars that this match could be a potential banana skin - only for them to be second-best for large swathes of it.

Hugo Ekitike's red card could lose him his starting spot, according to Jamie Redknapp.

He is now ruled out of Liverpool's trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

His form has been such that some fans think he should be starting ahead of Alexander Isak, even when the Swede reaches full fitness - but now he has given his new team-mate and rival the chance to steal in.

Redknapp told Sky Sports: 'I don't know why he takes his shirt off. We all know his name, you're different class mate. Frimpong is saying, "what are you doing big man" and hoping the referee doesn't see.

'Only he knows why he's taken off his shirt. He knows the rules. He's just got excited.

'You only need to be out for one game, if Isak scores, he might have to come off the bench again. The way he's playing, he's made himself the number nine.'

Let's bring you all the scores:

Andy Robertson told Sky Sports that Hugo Ekitike's sending-off was 'silly' and stemmed from 'stupidity'.

He said: 'His first one is stupidity, kicking the ball away. I'm sure he forgot (that he got the first yellow). Two silly bookings and we miss him for Saturday. He'll learn from it and I'm sure he won't do it again.'

He told Sky Sports:

Robertson added: He looks fit to me but maybe the sports scientists think different.

He told Sky Sports:

Now that the internet is back on, you even get Kieran Gill's full-time thoughts from Sincil Bank!

Jamie Redknapp has told Sky Sports: 'Chiesa was fabulous today. Energy, desire. Lately, we've seen signs that he's going back to the player he was. Today he was just the player they needed.'

This man is going to give Isak a run for his money. Whatever he touches turns to goals.

It feels so harsh that his heroic night has been marred by that red card, especially when he had a red under shirt on, but the rules are the rules, sadly.

And Liverpool have got over the line in the most breathtaking fashion.

They don't make it easy for themselves, do they?!

(Apologies for the horrendously late post - WIFI problems abound)

OH NO! Hugo Ekitike, what have you done?

That is brainless from the Frenchman.

After scoring, Ekitike takes his shirt off and presents it to the fans in Lionel Messi style.

But wait! He's already been booked and Ekitike is sent off.

Arne Slot will be fuming.

I cannot believe what I'm watching. His first yellow card was so silly too.

And they're back in front!

Ruthless from Liverpool. Robertson plays a perfect ball over the top, Chiesa controls it and plays it across to Ekitike, who slots home.

What a brilliant goal!

My oh my, Southampton are level out of the blue!

Wataru Endo has to take the blame there, unfortunately. From a corner, under no challenge, he headed the ball straight into the danger area, Quarshie flicked it on, and Charles capitalised.

Anfield is on its feet and clapping for Ngumoha as he is hauled off after another day of making defenders sweat.

No goal today but every time he gets on the ball you can see the possibilites fizzing.

Jayden Danns is on in his place.

Buonanotte nearly doubled his Chelsea goal tally there.

Pedro Neto slipped through the ball on a plate and the the Argentinian saw the whites of the goalkeeper's eyes, but Jeacock produced asave to deny Chelsea their crumb of comfort.

Still a nervy night for them at 2-1, knowing what the hosts are capable of.

Chiesa has been denied again!

This time, it was a deft touch in the box which set him up for a shot, and he unleashed his effort, and there were cried for handball against Flynn Downes... but any protests were waved away and Chiesa remains frustrated for the evening.

Downes tried to turn away and it was such close range that you can't really blame him.

That was super-fluid football from Liverpoool, delicious one-touch playground stuff, but Chiesa drifted offside for Ekitike's flick-on and he is denied his goal.

Brighton are now 4-0 up against Barnsley after Gomez's FOURTH goal of the evening.

Cardiff are 20 minutes away from stunnign Burnley as they lead 2-1m at Turf Moor. Another shock from a Welsh side after Swansea knocked out Nottingham Forest?

Fulham are leading 1-0 over Cambridge United.

Wolves hold on to their slender lead over Everton.

Wrexham have doubled their lead against Reading with Broadhead's second goal of the game.

And Wycombe are 2-0 up at Wigan.

A puzzling yelow card for Ekitike (who came on at half-time for Isak) there, who looked like he was getting his shirt pulled but was penalised by the referee.

Ah, he got the yelow for tossing the ball away... but out of frustration at being penalised in the first place.

Wrexham's record signing Nathan Broadhead has put them 1-0 up with a well-taken goal against Reading.

Starting to repay the fee, which is estimated to be in the region of £10million if all conditions are met.

Alejandro Garnacho's first start for Chelsea ends early as he's replaced by Estevao Willian. A fairly nondescript full debut.

Afraid I missed this before but let's give credit to Diego Gomez.

He's hardly known for his goals - until tonight, he had two in 23 outings for Brighton.

But in the first 33 minutes he fired Brighton 3-0 ahead at Barnsley and you'd assume that game is wrapped up.

Lincoln almost bundled it in!

Both Towler and Draper headed goalwards after a chip into the box but neither could generate enough power to trouble Jorgensen.

Even then, there was a scramble as the ball fell awkwardly but Chelsea eventually got it away.

What did Maresca say at half-time and why doesn't he say it every time???

Incredibly, Chelsea are 2-1 up, this time through Buonanotte after some beautiful interplay with George to work his way through the box and slip it past Jeacock from point-blank range.

Tyrique George with an absolute piledriver out of nowhere!

It was one of the truest strikes you'll see, but one born out of luck - a bounce to him on the edge of the area, and he swings at it first time and catches it sweeter than he ever will into the far top corner. There's no saving those. Did he mean to shoot that stylishly? Probably not. But Chelsea are back in it.

LUKE POWER: The start of a new era - in the most dramatic fashion! Alexander Isak fires Liverpool ahead just 40 seconds after Southampton missed two clear-cut chances to go ahead.

First Armstrong hit the post, then Scienza headed his follow-up wide, and little did they know how soon they'd be regretting that doubly.

Great work by Chiesa intercepting McCarthy's outpass and setting up his new team-mate. The first of many, you think.

The worst Chelsea performance I’ve seen this season by some distance. They’re being played off the park by League One Lincoln, and the Blues’ owner Behdad Eghbali is here to witness it.

It's half-time at Sincil Bank and Lincoln absolutely merit their lead. There's not even an air of pluckiness about them. They've just been better in every department.

Ngumoha has been showing what he's all about and just set up Chiesa there with a lovely dribble and cross but the Italian's shot was blocked in a crowded area.

Encouraging signs for the Reds but the visitors are holding up well.

LUKE POWER: Rob Street has put Lincoln on Cloud Nine!

Really poor play at the back from Chelsea gifts possession to Lincoln. A woeful pass across the defensive third from Enzo Fernandez, Chalobah was slow to react, Street found himself bearing down on Jorgensen before slotting it past him.

Much deserved.

LUKE POWER: Lovely cross from Chiesa but there was nobody to meet it in the area. It's good to see him being a livewire.

An impeccably observed minute’s silence was held before kick-off to honour the memory of Matt Beard, the former head coach of Liverpool’s Women who died last weekend.

A banner has just been walked across the front of The Kop, greeted by thunderous applause, which read: 'Liverpool was made for Matt and Matt was made for Liverpool' – a twist on the quote made famous by Bill Shankly.

There's plenty of intrigue in this line-up and it will be particularly enlightening to see how Giorgio Mamardashvili fares in his first competitive game.

There have already been a couple of encouraging signs, such as fine reflex save and a quick throw that had you thinking about NFL quarterbacks. Arne Slot, however, won’t want to see the Georgia international overworked.

They've not had much to cheer this season but Wolves have gone 1-0 up against Everton thanks to Munetsi!

At Lincoln, meanwhile, it's yet more chances for the hosts. Jorgensen botched a punch away from a header from a corner and that caused all sorts of chaos in the area. Nervy.

Experienced defender Bradley made a mockery of Chelsea's defending there.

Nobody picked him up from a corner and he blasted a header down and goalwards, but it fizzed past the post.

Another warning for Maresca's men. How many do they need?

Chelsea are in control now and Garnacho has been drawing fouls - and lapping up the chance to go down.

They're lacking invention a bit, but at least they've not got their backs gainst the wall.

It's another goal for Diego Gomez! He's already hunting for a hat-trick.

A quick counter-attack from the Seagulls and he lashes it past Cooper.

Yeah we've got a couple of great games on here. Armstrong blasted a first-time effort goalwards and Mamardashvili leapt to tip it over the bar.

Just like Lincoln, Southampton have come steaming out of the blocks and Liverpool look a shaky.

Southampton are not shying away from the challenge and are giving as good as they've got.

They've had a couple of corners now and a long-range effort was saved by Mamardashvili comfortably.

Alexander Isak almost had his first Liverpool goal inside a minute of the start!

Brilliant save from Alex McCarthy to deny his snap shot from close range.

Anfield just held a minute of silence for Matt Beard just then, and what a special man he was for the club. The outpouting of love upon his tragic death speaks volumes about the former women's manager.

We've got our first goal around the grounds and it goes to Diego Gomez of Brighton! A good start for Fabian Hurzeler's men.

just Draper chested down a long ball in the area, had an orb of space around him, and fired a half-volley into the side netting. Another chance goes begging.

You'd think Lincoln were the Premier League side and Chelsea were the minnows on the evidence so far. The Blues have hardly got out of their own half and look sleepy.

These long throws are genuinely like free kicks. These opening seven minutes have been all Lincoln and Chelsea look rattled. Even on the ground they're weaving their way around the blue shirts.

It looks like he'll be carrying on but Fofana needed treatment there and is hobbling. Maresca has limited options at the back and has still gone for Fofana and Chalobah at the heart of his defence.

Wow, Lincoln were almost in front there!

A frenetic start saw Lincoln trouble Chelsea with their long throws, and Montsma hit the post from inside the box. They could have easily been ahead. Absolute carnage.

They've scored first in nine of their last 11 games.

I didn't even have a chance to write my usual kick-off post!

Only a few minutes to go now. Liverpool and Southampton have to be different and kick off at 8pm, but the rest get going at 7.45pm. Grab your popcorn!

Hear the decibel levels rise when Isak jogs out.

Talented teen Tyler Dibling will make his first Everton start tonight against Wolves.

Bags of potential in the 19-year-old and that's why Everton splashed £42million to bring him in from Southampton.

The Southampton manager told Sky Sports:

You might be wondering why Garnacho has chosen the number 49 at Chelsea.

Well, it harks back to his days at Manchester United, when he was assigned the number on joining and had it for his first two seasons.

A nod to his past, though he'll hope for a higher status than the digits suggest.

Lincoln are third in League One so I don't except them to be pushovers tonight, though the cups do give us their fair share of drubbings.

How can they hurt Chelsea? Tom Collomosse has the answers in his write-up below....

Here's my two cents: Andy Robertson is still a better full back than Milos Kerkez.

Robertson has been given a chance tonight, but we all know that means he is essentially a second-string player. He'd want to be starting in the Premier League.

He was brilliant against Atletico Madrid, and though Kerkez impressed against Everton on Saturday, he still has a lot to learn.

Liverpool don't need to bomb up the flank on the left side so much, not with how Jeremie Frimpong wants to play, so for me, Robertson is still the better fit.

Will Still could do with some escapism after a difficult start to Championship life and what a way it would be to ruberstamp his regime if he can nab a win at Anfield. Here are his selected troops .

Lincoln’s record signing is Ivan Varfolomeyev, the midfielder who cost £350,000. By my calculations, Chelsea’s line-up adds up to £367.3million, not including a fair few add-ons.

Lots to dig into with Liverpool's team news.

Fans are going to be getting excited about Isak's name anywhere near the team sheet for a while so will be chomping at the bit to see him play today.

Giovanni Leoni makes his first outing for the club since his £26million move from Parma, and it's the same for Giorgi Mamardashvili.

And Joe Gomez is back in for his first start since December last year.

In all of the arrivals pictures we have of him tonight, Estevao Willian is stopping for photos with fans. Fair play to the lad. I've loved what I've seen from him and he clearly has a huge future ahead of him if he stays focused. This is a nice touch.

Good to see that manager Michael Skubala has found room for the strike partnership of Rob Street and Ben House.

Alejandro Garnacho is in line to make his first Chelsea start after his £40million switch from Manchester United.

He got 11 minutes off the bench against Brentford, and indeed his lax marking saw Fabio Carvalho score the equaliser, but he now has the chance to prove his worth over a longer period against lower-league opposition.

Remember Bobby Firmino? Of course you do!

Southampton were his last victims when he was draped in Liverpool's colours, as he went out with a bang against Southampton in 2023 at St Mary's.

Whatever way tonight's game goes for Chelsea, the club have something to celebrate this week: Hannah Hampton being crowned the best women's goalkeeper in the World.

A domestic treble winner with Chelsea and a Euros champion? Not bad going...

That last picture of the dog wearing a Liverpool kit and shades is one of my favourites I've seen. I hope the little dude/girl and their owner are okay. Can we get them season tickets?

Wolves have made a stinker of a start to the season and they'll be hoping to set the world to rights against Everton at Molineux.

Their only win this season was against West Ham in the previous round, and that's not saying much given the sludgy form they're in under Graham Potter.

Still feels a big game for Vitor Pereira despite his new deal. One win, and/or a cup run, can make a huge difference to morale.

Any regular Liverpool readers will know of Lewis Steele's work for us and he's back here with another corker, this time on Rio Ngumoha.

Steele speaks with former coaches to work out what makes the teenage prodigy so special, and how he was proven wrong about the one weakness he thought Ngumoha had.

Our reporter KIERAN GILL writes in from the LNER Stadium:

Interesting to see what line-up is fielded by Chelsea tonight. They practically chucked this competition last season when they went to Newcastle, changing their entire team.

I remember asking Enzo Maresca why he took Cole Palmer all the way to Newcastle and didn’t bother using him. Palmer won’t be involved tonight either as they’re trying to manage his injury (and he was in Paris last night for the Ballon d’Or ceremony) but we’ll soon see who has travelled.

Wrexham welcome Reading tonight and are bidding to reach the fourth round for the first time in 48 years.

They've already dispatched Championship sides Hull City and Preston North End and will be favourites against League One strugglers Reading.

For either side, reaching the next round puts them a game away from the last eight. Reading have already put out Portsmouth and Wimbledon, but this may be their toughest test yet.

Cole Palmer was hooked after 21 minutes against Manchester United and is likely to be excluded tonight, prompting a big question for Chelsea fans: what's going on?

He missed their games against West Ham and Fulham, but scored off the bench against Brentford and scored after starting against Bayern Munich.

Maresca insists they are taking each day as it comes with his groin problem, but seemed optimistic that he won't have to go under the knife.

'The medical staff, they didn’t mention to me about surgery (up to) today,' Maresca said. 'I don’t know if in the next days or the next weeks, but I don’t think so, to be honest.

“We need to protect Cole for sure 100%,” he added.

'The solution with Cole, I don’t know, now we have a meeting with the medical staff and we decide the best solution for him.

'But it’s also a kind of injury that is not like black and white. It’s an injury that someday you can be better. It’s not that you have pain and tomorrow disappear.

'Sometimes you can be better, sometimes you can be worse. That’s why we need to manage day by day.'

All the talk will be around Alexander Isak, but Giorgi Mamardashvili will be one to watch tonight if given the nod by Arne Slot.

After signing last year for £29million but staying at Valencia for a season, the Georgian has been waiting a long time to make his competitive Liverpool bow.

Tipped as a potential long-term successor to Alisson, it will be important for Mamardashvili, 24, to hit the ground running in the matches he gets to play.

Many felt that letting Caoimhin Kelleher go to Brentford was a mistake, so his replacement comes in with a point to prove.

Enzo Maresca fears tonight's trip to League One high-flyers Lincoln City could be a banana peel for his weathered troops.

The Blues boss said it will be hard to rotate his defence and confirmed that Cole Palmer will not be taking part due to his recurring groin issues.

'These are the games that worry me most, because you can slip very easily in these kind of games,' he said in his pre-match press conference.

'Football is full of these kind of games and I am very worried about that.

'But for sure we have probably some few players from the academy like we always have done.'

Liverpool boss Arne Slot, pictured looking dapper before missing out on world coach of the year last night, will rotate his squad for this one.

Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch, Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai will all be given a rest.

It seems likely that Alexander Isak will get some minutes in his legs, while an array of fringe stars and youngsters will also get the chance to impress.

Good afternoon all and welcome to another evening of tasty Carabao Cup action!

It's another third round night ahead and yet more of the nation's biggest sides enter the competition at this stage, with minnows Manchester United knocked out in the previous round.

The bulk of this blog will focus on Chelsea's trip to Lincoln City, which gets underway at 7.45pm, and Liverpool's Anfield clash with Southampton, which starts 15 minutes later for some reason.

Six other games are going on tonight and among those, Wolves face Everton to see if they can have a bit of respite from their league doldrums, Burnley host Cardiff City, Fulham have got Cambridge, and Wrexham welcome Reading.