Final Score: Liverpool 1 Swansea City 3

LIVERPOOL’S defence of the League Cup ended as Brendan Rodgers’ selection gamble backfired, while former club Swansea progressed to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

The Northern Irishman left south Wales in the summer to take over from Kenny Dalglish, but it was the visitors who had the last laugh in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup at Anfield.

Chico Flores and Nathan Dyer put the Swans 2-0 up with 17 minutes to go and although sub Luis Suarez quickly pulled one back, De Guzman made it 3-1 in added time to loosen the eight-time winners’ grip on the trophy.

It was only their tenth defeat in 102 League Cup games as the home team.

The match pitted together two sides with similar playing styles having been crafted by the same manager. However, it was Rodgers’ former club rather than his current side which came out on top.

The Reds boss made nine changes from Sunday’s Merseyside derby draw and the starting line-up contained only three players – Jamie Carragher, Stewart Downing and Joe Cole – aged over 24.

Cole, who still appears to remain a misfit at the club he joined in the summer of 2010, started his first match since the Europa League qualifier against Gomel on August 2.

He did little to suggest he is any closer to regaining the first-team spot he loosely held in Roy Hodgson’s brief tenure and lasted only 45 minutes.

Big-names stars Steven Gerrard and Suarez were left on the bench but it would only be 45 minutes before they were dragged into the action.

It took Swansea, who kept two clean sheets against Liverpool in the league last season, a while to find their feet at Anfield but they created the best chances.