Keeper Simon Mignolet proved the shootout hero as Liverpool reached the League Cup final penalties after a gripping last-four second leg tie at Anfield ended 1-1 on aggregate Tuesday. Mignolet saved twice in the shootout, including a brilliant stop to deny Marc Muniesa in sudden death, which allowed Joe Allen to stroke home the decisive spotkick and send Liverpool to Wembley. It was a fortunate end to an uncomfortable evening for the host, which was under pressure for much of the encounter which ended 1-0 to Stoke City after extra time. Stoke took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Marko Arnautovic swept the ball home from an offside position but the assistant's flag stayed down and the goal was allowed to stand. Liverpool struggled to breakdown a resolute Stoke defense and after neither side could add to the scoring for the remainder of the match, it went to penalties and Allen's effort gave the hosts a 6-5 win in the shootout. It was a thrilling end for Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp who could not bear to watch as Allen's final penalty hit the net. Liverpool will face either Everton or Manchester City in the final on Feb. 28, with Roberto Martinez's side holding a 2-1 lead heading into Wednesday's second leg. Stoke almost took the lead in extra time when substitute Marco van Ginkel bustled through and struck the outside of the post, but the most gripping drama was reserved for the shootout. Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch had his effort saved by Mignolet and Emre Can struck the post for the host before Muniesa's effort was kept out and Allen stroked home to seal the tie. AC Milan prevails AC Milan scraped a 1-0 win over third tier Alessandria thanks to a Mario Balotelli penalty, his first goal for four months, in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semifinal Tuesday. The maverick striker, who has missed three months of the season with a groin injury, converted in the 42nd minute after a foul on Luca Antonini, his second goal of the season in all competitions. Juventus hosts Inter Milan Wednesday in the first leg of the other semifinal. Lille enters final Lille thrashed Bordeaux 5-1 to reach the French League Cup final Tuesday. Lille will meet either Cup holder Paris Saint-Germain or Toulouse. Japan and South Korea qualify for Olympics Asian footballing giants Japan and South Korea qualified for the Rio Olympics and progressed to the final of the U-23 AFC Championships with semifinal victories in Doha Tuesday. Both needed late goals with Japan scoring with virtually the last kick of the game to beat Iraq 2-1 and South Korea scoring twice in the last five minutes to shatter host Qatar's dream of appearing in the final and qualifying for the Olympics for the first time since 1992. It is the 10th time Japan has qualified for the Olympics and the seventh for South Korea. The final will take place on Jan. 30. Qatar and Iraq will meet in the third place play-off on Jan. 29, with the winner claiming the last AFC berth in Rio. Among the 11,000-plus crowd in Doha Tuesday was former Chelsea club doctor, Eva Carneiro. Earlier this month she began a constructive dismissal case in London against the English league champion after leaving Stamford Bridge last year. She had been criticized by Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho after treating Eden Hazard on the pitch in the opening game of the season against Swansea, which led to her being relieved of first-team duties. Mourinho has also subsequently left Chelsea.
