Andoni Iraola's Liverpool are beginning to look like a team with a clear direction — and a penalty shootout victory that secured a place in the Carabao Cup quarterfinals, set against the backdrop of a roaring Anfield, offered the clearest evidence yet that a new era is taking shape at the club.

The Kop played its part, driving the team forward with the kind of intensity that has long made Anfield one of European football's most intimidating venues. Under Iraola, Liverpool are showing signs of responding to that atmosphere in a way that suggests the bond between manager and supporters is already forming.

The shootout win — tense and dramatic as these occasions tend to be — was more than just a route into the last eight of the competition. It served as a marker of progress, a signal that this squad is developing the resilience and collective identity that Iraola demands.

Liverpool's rebuild was always going to take time. Replacing the culture and momentum of a title-winning side is never straightforward, and Iraola arrived knowing patience would be required from all corners of the club. But moments like these, when the crowd, the result, and the performance align, are precisely what can accelerate that process.

The Carabao Cup has historically offered clubs in transition a platform to build confidence, and Liverpool are no exception. A quarterfinal berth keeps the season's ambitions alive and gives Iraola's squad another high-stakes opportunity to grow together.

It is still early days, and questions remain about the consistency and depth of this Liverpool side. But the direction of travel, fuelled by Anfield's atmosphere and a manager who has shown he knows how to build a team from the ground up, is becoming clearer with each passing fixture.