Fabinho is knocked to the ground by Rodri during Man City's Carabao Cup against Liverpool

During Thursday night's Carabao Cup match between Liverpool and Manchester City, Fabinho and Rodri almost exchanged punches as their tempers flared.

After winning the trophy for the first time under Jurgen Klopp last season, the Reds had planned to retain their title. However, they were eliminated after falling to their top rivals at the Etihad 3-2 in a nail-biting match.

As the clock ticked down, Fabinho's scissor-kick foul on Rodri enraged the City star and caused the red mist to cover the midfielder. Before Ilkay Gundogan ran in and shoved the Liverpool star over, the Spaniard retaliated against him.

Both teams' players got into an on-field altercation as a result, but some of them made an effort to look reasonable.

Both sets of players got into a fight on the field as a result, although to some players' credit, they seemed to diffuse things when Rodri ultimately cooled down. Before the game proceeded, referee David Coote issued both players a diplomatic booking.

City defeated Liverpool 3-2 on Thursday night to go to the quarterfinals against Southampton. Erling Haaland scored in just ten minutes after a month-long absence due to the World Cup.

Just a few seconds after halftime, Riyad Mahrez gave City the lead again after Fabio Carvalho had responded. But before Nathan Ake tucked a lovely Kevin de Bruyne cross past Caoimhin Kelleher, Mohamed Salah had already equalized.