Liverpool 0 Stoke 1 (aet, 1-1 on agg; Liverpool won 6-5 on penalties)

Midfielder Joe Allen and goalkeeper Simon Mignolet were the penalty shoot-out heroes as Liverpool booked a trip to Wembley after a tense Capital Cup semi-final second leg at Anfield.

The second-half substitute, who had scored in his previous two midweek outings, slotted home after much-maligned goalkeeper Mignolet had saved Peter Crouch’s spot kick and then Stoke defender Marc Muniesa’s effort in sudden death.

There was some irony the decisive moment was produced by one of the smallest players on the pitch in a match which manager Jurgen Klopp had predicted just before kick-off would be “a heading festival”.

The ball certainly saw some air time but four shots on target in 120 minutes underlined the lack of quality in the game and penalties were almost inevitable from the moment Marko Arnautovic struck a controversial goal just before the interval.

Arnautovic levelled the tie inside 90 minutes for Mark Hughes’s side but from an offside position that left Anfield apoplectic and Jurgen Klopp bemoaning another inconsistent display from Liverpool.

The 90 minutes here ended as so many of Klopp’s problems begin, with Liverpool desperately defending a corner as Stoke sensed the second goal that would take them to Wembley. This time, however, they held out but the sight of Allen taking a booking for the team with a late lunge on Ibrahim Afellay summed up the home side’s state of anxiety. It was the visitors who showed more composure in possession and created the clearer chances, though Mignolet’s first serious test did not arrive until Arnautovic levelled proceedings.

There was no subtlety in the Stoke manager’s approach. His intentions were clear the moment the team-sheet landed and Peter Crouch’s name was in the starting line-up while Xherdan Shaqiri sat on the bench.

Stoke provided Crouch with few opportunities to expose Liverpool’s aerial weakness from open play but his battle against Mamadou Sakho would prove crucial in dragging the France defender out of position for Stoke’s breakthrough.

The semi-final started to the backdrop of a vibrant atmosphere, with Anfield applauding en masse – Klopp and the travelling supporters included – in memory of Owen McVeigh, a 11-year-old Liverpool fan who recently lost his fight with leukaemia.

In an intense, scrappy cup tie both sides struggled with their passing and first touch. The captains, Jordan Henderson and Glenn Whelan, were telling team-mates to keep cool heads after misplaced passes.

Liverpool struggled throughout to create any opportunities. The first clear opening of the night came when Erik Pieters’s clearance caught the home defence square and sent Jonathan Walters through on goal but he dragged a shot wide of Mignolet’s far post.

A 25-yard drive from Emre Can was the sum total of Liverpool’s threat in the first half and Stoke’s confident display was rewarded, wrongly it transpired, in first-half stoppage time.

Crouch won possession deep in the Liverpool half and Alberto Moreno was nowhere to be seen at left back when Walters released Bojan Krkic down the right. Bojan played a perfectly weighted pass behind the recovering Sakho and, despite Arnautovic being clearly offside in the middle, Lee Betts’ flag stayed down as the unmarked forward scored from close range. Klopp was first down the tunnel as the half-time whistle sounded and Anfield voiced its disapproval of the match officials.

The Liverpool manager resisted a change in personnel until the 58th minute, when Christian Benteke replaced the struggling Henderson, but there was a different, improved tempo to his team from the restart.

Roberto Firmino struck the outside of a post following a corner and Liverpool responded to their supporters’ appeals for greater urgency. Careless distribution and uncertain defending continued to offer Stoke hope, however.

Arnautovic floated an inviting pass into the path of Walters but he was denied by Sakho’s last-ditch block.

Stoke almost won it in extra time when Crouch’s flick found Van Ginkel who took the ball on his chest but his finish at the near post hit the outside of the woodwork and went wide. (Guardian service)