EFL (Carabao) Cup 2021-22 was the 62nd season of the EFL Cup (known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons). The competition was open to all clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League. The winner of the competition qualifies for the play-off round of the UEFA Europa Conference League 2022–23.
The competition began on 31 July 2021, and the final was played at Wembley Stadium on 27 February 2022 between Chelsea and Liverpool, with Liverpool winning a record ninth title 11–10 on penalties following a goalless draw after extra time. Manchester City were the holders, having won the previous four editions, but they were eliminated by West Ham United on penalties in the fourth round.
Champions: 
Liverpool (9th title)
Runner-up: 
Chelsea
Top Goal Scorer: 
Marcus Forss and 
Eddie Nketiah (5 goals each)
EFL Cup (Carabao) 2021-22 Third Round matches
A total of 32 teams played in the third round. Chelsea, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and West Ham United entered in this round due to their participation in either the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, or the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League. The draw was made on 25 August 2021 live on Sky Sports after the conclusion of the second round tie between West Bromwich Albion vs Arsenal by Kevin Phillips and Kevin Campbell. Unlike the previous rounds this round was not split into northern and southern sections. Tiebreakers were decided by penalty.
Date Team 1 Result Team 2
21 September 2021 
Burnley4–1 
Rochdale
21 September 2021 
Fulham0–0
5–6 (penalties)
Leeds United
21 September 2021 
Manchester City6–1 
Wycombe Wanderers
21 September 2021 
Norwich City0–3 Liverpool
21 September 2021 
Preston North End4–1 
Cheltenham Town
21 September 2021 
Queens Park Rangers2–2
8–7 (penalties)
Everton
21 September 2021 
Sheffield United2–2
2–4 (penalties)
Southampton
21 September 2021 
Watford1–3 
Stoke City
21 September 2021 
Wigan Athletic0–2 
Sunderland
21 September 2021 
Brentford7–0 
Oldham Athletic
22 September 2021 
Brighton2–0 
Swansea City
22 September 2021 
Arsenal3–0 
AFC Wimbledon
22 September 2021 Chelsea1–1
4–3 (penalties)
Aston Villa
22 September 2021 
Manchester United0–1 
West Ham United
22 September 2021 
Millwall0–2 
Leicester City
22 September 2021 
Wolves2–2
2–3 (penalties)
Tottenham Hotspur
EFL Cup (Carabao) 2021-22 Fourth Round matches
A total of 16 teams played in this round. The ties were played during the week commencing 25 October 2021. League One side Sunderland were the only team from the third division or lower left in the competition.
Date Team 1 Result Team 2
26 October 2021 Chelsea1–1
4–3 (penalties) Southampton
26 October 2021 Arsenal2–0 Leeds United
26 October 2021 Queens Park Rangers0–0
1–3 (penalties) Sunderland
27 October 2021 Stoke City1–2 Brentford
27 October 2021 West Ham United0–0
5–3 (penalties) Manchester City
27 October 2021 Leicester City2–2
4–2 (penalties) Brighton
27 October 2021 Burnley0–1 Tottenham Hotspur
27 October 2021 Preston North End0–2 Liverpool
EFL Cup (Carabao) 2021-22 Quarter Final matches
A total of eight teams played in this round. The draw was held on 30 October 2021. The ties were played during the week commencing 20 December 2021. League One side Sunderland were the only team from outside the Premier League left in the competition.
Date Team 1 Result Team 2
21 December 2021 Arsenal5–1 Sunderland
22 December 2021 Brentford0–2 Chelsea
22 December 2021 Liverpool3–3
5–4 (penalties) Leicester City
22 December 2021 Tottenham Hotspur2–1 West Ham United
EFL Cup (Carabao) 2021-22 Semi Final matches
A total of four teams, all of which were from the Premier League, played in this round. The draw was held on 22 December 2021. This season saw the return of double-legged semi-finals as with the 2019–20 EFL Cup after the 2020–21 EFL Cup semi-finals were played over a single leg due to fixture congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first and second legs were originally scheduled to be played during the weeks commencing 3 January 2022 and 10 January 2022, respectively. However, on 5 January 2022, the EFL postponed the first-leg match between Arsenal and Liverpool, originally scheduled for 6 January 2022, to 13 January 2022, due to a COVID-19 outbreak among Liverpool’s players and staff. This also led to a switch to Liverpool home for the first leg, and Arsenal home for the second leg on 20 January 2022.
Team 1 Aggregate Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Chelsea3–0 Tottenham Hotspur2–0 1–0
Liverpool2–0 Arsenal0–0 2–0
EFL Cup (Carabao) 2021-22 Final match
Chelsea played Liverpool in the final, which was held on 27 February 2022. This saw the return of the EFL Cup Final to its February slot as with the 2020 EFL Cup Final, as the 2021 EFL Cup Final was played in April so that spectators could attend due to COVID-19 restrictions in England. It was played at Wembley Stadium in Wembley in the London Borough of Brent. The winner qualifies for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League unless they have qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League or 2022–23 UEFA Europa League.
27 February 2022 16:30 GMT, Wembley Stadium, London
| Chelsea |
0 – 0 (a.e.t.) | Liverpool |
Alonso  Lukaku Havertz James Jorginho Rüdiger Kanté Werner Thiago Silva Chalobah Arrizabalaga  |
Penalties 10 – 11 |
Milner Fabinho Van Dijk Alexander-Arnold Salah Jota Origi Robertson Elliott Konaté Kelleher |
EFL Cup (Carabao) 2021-22 Top Goal Scorer List
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Marcus Forss Brentford5
2 Eddie Nketiah Arsenal5
3 Cameron Archer Aston Villa4
4 
Takumi Minamino Liverpool4
5 
Aiden O'Brien Sunderland4
6 
Emil Riis Jakobsen Preston North End4
7 Jay Rodriguez Burnley4
8 
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Arsenal3
9 
Mohamed Elyounoussi Southampton3
10 
Diogo Jota Liverpool3
11 Morgan Whittaker Swansea City3
12 
Yoane Wissa Brentford3
Notes: Rochdale received a bye following the postponement of the match due to COVID-19 cases among Harrogate Town’s squad.
Qualification Process
All 92 clubs in the Premier League and English Football League entered the season’s EFL Cup. Access was distributed across the top 4 leagues of the English football league system. For the first two rounds, the draw was regionalised into northern and southern clubs.
In the first round, 22 of 24 Championship clubs, and all League One and League Two clubs entered. The following round, the two remaining Championship clubs, who finished 18th and 19th in the 2020–21 Premier League season (Fulham and West Bromwich Albion), and the Premier League clubs not involved in either the Champions League, Europa League, or Europa Conference League entered.
