( CNN ) -- Captain Steven Gerrard scored the only goal from the penalty spot as Liverpool beat Manchester City 1-0 in Wednesday 's first leg of their English League Cup semifinal . Gerrard made no mistake with his 13th-minute spot-kick , after City defender Stefan Savic had fouled Daniel Agger in the area , to give Liverpool a narrow advantage to take into the second leg at Anfield in a fortnight . The winners will face either Crystal Palace or Cardiff City , who both play in the second-tier Championship , in next month 's final at Wembley Stadium . It was City 's second home defeat in three days , having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United on Sunday . It is in stark contrast to the club 's Premier League form , where the leaders have won all 10 matches played at the Etihad Stadium . Who are football 's top January transfer targets ? City had a great chance to level in the second half when Sergio Aguero intercepted Martin Kelly 's poor back-pass , but goalkeeper Pep Reina narrowed the angle and the Argentina international fired over the bar . Aguero also squandered an opportunity from close range soon after , but his unmarked header failed to find the target . Meanwhile , Tottenham drew level with second-placed United in the Premier League , after a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Everton on Wednesday left the London club three points behind City . The home side went ahead 10 minutes before halftime when England winger Aaron Lennon cut inside defender Leighton Baines and evaded Sylvain Distin 's challenge before coolly slotting home . Leftback Benoit Assou-Ekotto sealed victory in the 63rd minute when the Cameroon international slammed in a superb 30-yard drive for his first goal since August 2009 . The result lifted Tottenham eight points clear of fourth-placed London rivals Chelsea . Meanwhile , there was a shock result in the last 16 of the Italian Cup as Serie A title hopefuls Udinese lost 2-1 at home to Chievo . Udinese lie in third place in the league table having won eight and drawn the other of their nine home matches . However , substitute Cyril Thereau 's injury-time winner earned the visitors a quarterfinal trip to Siena . Roma booked a last-eight tie with second-placed Serie A side Juventus as Argentine midfielder Erik Lamela scored twice in a 3-0 home win over Fiorentina .
Liverpool defeat Manchester City 1 - 0 in the first leg of the English League Cup semifinal . City captain Steven Gerrard scores the only goal with a first - half penalty . It is Liverpool 's second successive cup defeat after the FA Cup loss to Manchester United . Tottenham level with Manchester United in Premier League after 2 - 0 win over Chelsea .