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Peter Crouch was sent off as Liverpool bowed out of the Carling Cup with a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the quarter-finals.

Rafa Benitez made nine changes to the side that lost 1-0 to Manchester United but Liverpool matched Chelsea in an entertaining first half that only remained goalless thanks to fine saves from Petr Cech and his opposite number Charles Itandje.

Itandje could do nothing in the 59th minute when Frank Lampard's shot deflected off Jamie Carragher and looped high into the net, and Liverpool's task became even more difficult just 60 seconds later when Crouch was dismissed for a two-footed challenge on John Obi Mikel.

Liverpool battled hard in an attempt to force extra-time but Chelsea had few alarms in the final half hour and Andrei Shevchenko clinched their place in the draw for the last four with a powerful strike in the 90th minute that beat Itandje at his near post.

Agility

Chelsea's failure to break the deadlock in the first half was largely due to the agility of Liverpool's reserve goalkeeper Itandje.

In the 11th minute he denied Ivory Coast striker Salomon Kalou when Shevchenko's low cross had invited him to try his luck from just inside the penalty area.

However, the Liverpool goalkeeper had to rely on his shoulder to prevent Lampard scoring in the 24th minute.

Alvaro Arbeloa's attempted clearance fell to Lampard's feet on the edge of the penalty area but the England man could not finish the job.

A minute later Chelsea had to rely on Cech, playing his first game in the competition this season, when a move involving Andrei Voronin and Crouch set up Lucas.

The Czech international keeper, at fault for Arsenal's winner in the Premier League on Sunday, produced a fine diving save to deny the Liverpool midfielder.

But they were the only real highlights in a first half littered with poor passes and choked by a packed midfield.

Chelsea continued to look the more likely to score but Lampard was still finding his range when he sent a 20-yard shot high into the crowd in the 52nd minute.

Less than 60 seconds later, Itandje denied Michael Essien, back from his three-match suspension, with a flying one-handed save as the Ghanaian's 18-yard effort looked destined for the corner.

Sporadic

Liverpool's attacks were sporadic at best but they were almost gifted a goal in the 55th minute when Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho, playing his first game since breaking a small bone in his back against Everton in early November, failed to reach Cech with a back-header.

The ball fell straight into the path of Crouch but the lanky striker could not lift the ball over the advancing Chelsea keeper.

But four minutes later, Chelsea were in front. Mikel found Shevchenko with a clever pass and the Ukraine striker put Lampard in the clear thanks to a neat first touch.

The England midfielder's shot was half-stopped by Carragher but the ball ballooned up and over the stranded Itandje to register Lampard's 99th goal for the club.

But the game erupted in the worst possible way within a minute when Crouch inexplicably decided to launch himself at Mikel right in front of the home dugout.

The two-footed lunge was high and dangerous and the referee had no hesitation in dismissing the England striker - to the fury of Benitez and the player himself.

Mikel was later replaced by Michael Ballack, who was returning to action for the first time since April.

In the intervening period, the Germany captain underwent two ankle operations - but he showed no ill-effects as Chelsea went in search of a second goal.

Indeed, it was Ballack's header down to Shevchenko in the final minute of normal time which allowed the Ukrainian to drill an angled shot past Itandje to put Chelsea into the last four of the competition.

Teams

Chelsea  Cech, Belletti, Ben-Haim, Bridge, Carvalho, Essien, Lampard, Mikel (Ballack 68), Kalou, Shevchenko (Sidwell 90), Sinclair (J. Cole 57)
Subs Not Used  Cudicini, Ferreira
Booked 
Goals  Lampard 59, Shevchenko 90

Liverpool Itandje, Arbeloa, Aurelio, Carragher, Hobbs, Alonso (El Zhar 60), Lucas, Sissoko, Babel (Benayoun 73), Crouch, Voronin
Subs Not Used Martin, Hyypia, Riise
Booked  Alonso, Lucas, Sissoko
Sent Off  Crouch
Goals 

Attendance 41,366

Referee M. Atkinson