Liverpool first team coach Gary McAllister has revealed there was a palpable sense of relief inside the Merseyside club's dressing room following their penalty shootout win over League Two outfit Carlisle United in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday.

Liverpool were on the verge of suffering a shock defeat to the fourth-tier club after the scores remained locked at 1-1 following the end of 90 minutes and extra-time.

However, the Reds were able to scrape through to the fourth round of the competition by winning the ensuing penalty shootout 3-2 thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Adam Bogdan.

"There were big sighs of relief in the dressing room. Of course, we would have liked to have won the game in 90 minutes," McAllister told Sky Sports post match.

"We started well, passed it well and losing Roberto Firmino [to a back injury in the first half] just set us back a touch. Again there were flashes, but we were not up to the speed we are looking at.

"The positives were we are through to the next round and we've had over 50 shots at goal [actually 47].

"We've been asking the players to step forward and take more responsibility and we had that tonight - we just didn't worry the keeper enough.

"The players have to trust themselves and they kept trying - no-one shied away from it."