Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, left, celebrates with his teammate Curtis Jones...

Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, left, celebrates with his teammate Curtis Jones after scoring the first goal during the English League Cup soccer match between Brighton and Liverpool at Falmer Stadium in Brighton, England, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: AP/Dave Shopland

Liverpool advanced to the quarterfinals in its English League Cup title defense with a 3-2 win over Brighton that was sparked by a double from Cody Gakpo on Wednesday.

The Netherlands international scored in the 46th and 63rd minutes at Amex Stadium, while Luis Diaz added a third in the 85th after Brighton had pulled a goal back through Simon Adingra.

Liverpool held on after Tariq Lamptey scored Brighton's second goal in the 90th.

Liverpool has won the League Cup a record 10 times, most recently last season with a victory over Chelsea in the final.

There were five more last-16 matches being played on Wednesday, including Manchester City visiting Tottenham and Manchester United hosting Leicester two days after firing manager Erik ten Hag.

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, left, celebrates after scoring his second goal...

Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, left, celebrates after scoring his second goal against Brighton during the English League Cup soccer match between Brighton and Liverpool at Falmer Stadium in Brighton, England, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: AP/Dave Shopland

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