Carabao Cup
SUPER SUB IHEANACHO DENIES ASTON VILLA LEAGUE CUP FINAL SLOT
Brendan Rodgers warned Leicester will have to suffer to reach the League Cup final after Kelechi Iheanacho’s late goal earned a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Rodgers’ side fell behind to Frederic Guilbert’s first half goal in the semi-final first leg at the King Power Stadium.
But Iheanacho came off the bench to equalise with his sixth goal in eight appearances this season.
Leicester will feel they should have won after dominating for long periods, but the team in second place in the Premier League will have to finish the job at Villa Park in the second leg on January 28.
“Overall I thought we dominated the game. Villa made some blocks and the keeper made some good saves,” Rodgers said.
“Over two ties it was always going to be tough and to get to a final you have to suffer, but the boys are confident.”
Rodgers has a remarkable record of advancing from his last 30 domestic cup ties with Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester.
But the last team to beat Rodgers in a domestic knockout competition were Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals in 2014-15 when he was Liverpool manager.
And Villa, whose last major trophy was the 1996 League Cup, will feel they are in pole position to reach the final after surviving a stern examination.
“I thought Leicester were the better team. We have given away a farcical goal. Ezri Konsa has got brain dazzled,” Villa manager Dean Smith said.
“But we defended brilliantly at times and it will be a raucous crowd at Villa Park. I’m looking forward to it. It’s all to play for.”
The second leg winner will play Manchester City or Manchester United in the final at Wembley, with City leading 3-1 after their first leg at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Leicester last won the competition in 2000, beating Villa in the semi-finals that year, and they were well on top at the start.
Jamie Vardy was back after missing three games due to the birth of his daughter and a calf injury and took the fight to Villa.
He seized Marvelous Nakamba’s wayward header before testing Orjan Nyland, then saw his low drive blocked by Villa’s keeper moments later.
But, having soaked up Leicester’s early blitz on a rain-drenched evening in the east midlands, it was Villa who snatched the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute.
INFUSED WITH CONFIDENCE
Anwar El Ghazi was playing in an unfamiliar role up front due to Wesley’s injury and Jonathan Kodjia’s illness.
The winger drifted back out to the left flank to deliver a cross that landed perfectly for Guilbert, who got in front of Ben Chilwell and stabbed his volley in from close-range.
The French defender’s first goal since August was Villa’s first shot on target in the match.
Infused with confidence after that bolt from the blue, Smith’s team were inches away from doubling their lead before half-time.
Jack Grealish’s inswinging free-kick found Ezri Konsa and the Villa defender headed against the bar from inside the six-yard box.
Leicester wrestled back the initiative after the interval and Nyland alertly smothered the danger when Vardy tried to latch onto a through ball.
Tyrone Mings won header after header as Villa tried to weather the storm and when James Maddison did get past the defender with a bold burst, Nyland was on hand to make another good save.
Maddison tried again with a run onto Ricardo Pereira’s pass, but the Norwegian saved at the near post.
Leicester’s pressure finally told in the 74th minute.
Luiz, put in trouble by Konsa’s sloppy free-kick, lost possession to Hamza Choudhury and Vardy found Iheanacho, who shot high past Nyland from 15 yards.
Vardy nearly won it in the closing minutes, but his shot rippled into the side-netting just as Leicester fans were anticipating a dramatic finale.
–AFP
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wants defender Marc Guehi to be allowed to play in their League Cup final against Arsenal, saying the club will ask organisers to reconsider eligibility rules.
City booked their place at Wembley with a 3-1 home win over Newcastle United in Wednesday’s semi-final second leg, completing a 5-1 aggregate victory.
Competition rules make Guehi ineligible for the final because he featured earlier in the tournament for Crystal Palace, and joined City after the first leg of the semi-final.
“Why should he (Guehi) not play? Why not? We pay his salary, he is our player,” Guardiola told reporters.
“You buy a player for a lot of money and he is not able to play, for a rule I don’t understand. Hopefully they can change it.
“I told the club we must ask – hopefully we can convince the Carabao Cup that Marc can play the final.”
The League Cup final between City and Arsenal is scheduled for March 22.
-Reuters
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Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said reaching Wembley for the first time since 2020 – thanks to a 4-2 aggregate League Cup semi-final win over Chelsea – would give his players a boost for a hectic season run-in.
“It’s the best vitamins we can put in our bodies because we are playing every three days,” Arteta told reporters after Arsenal beat their London rivals 1-0 on Tuesday to seal their place in the final of England’s second domestic cup competition.
The Spaniard said the prospect of a return to Wembley for the first time since he guided his team to victory in the FA Cup final – also against Chelsea – six years ago was magical, before adding: “Now we are going to have to go and win it.”
Arsenal had failed to make it through their previous four major cup semi-finals – two in the League Cup and another two in Europe – before overcoming Chelsea on Tuesday.
With the visitors desperately seeking the goal they needed to level the tie on aggregate, former Chelsea attacker Kai Havertz ran clear to score in the final moments of the semi-final second leg
The German has missed much of this season through injury and Arteta hailed his return to form.
“Today was a special moment for him and I hope that he fully enjoys it,” he said.
The Premier League leaders – who are also competing in the FA Cup and the Champions League – will face either Manchester City or Newcastle United who play their semi-final second leg on Wednesday with City 2-0 ahead from the first leg.
Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior said his players’ disciplined performance showed how much the team had developed since the chaotic 3-2 home loss to Arsenal in last month’s first leg, which was only his second match in charge after replacing Enzo Maresca.
“Ultimately their goal comes when we’re throwing the kitchen sink at the game. That’s going to happen,” Rosenior said. “We can’t let this setback affect our future. There were aspects of our game that I am very happy with.”
He said winger Pedro Neto and club captain Reece James had not made the squad on Tuesday after picking up “small knocks” and he praised 18-year-old Brazil winger Estevao who made a 48-hour round trip to Brazil for compassionate reasons but was back in London to come off the bench for Chelsea in the second half.
-Reuters
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Omar Marmoush scored twice as Manchester City set up a League Cup final date with Arsenal after a comprehensive 3-1 second-leg victory over visiting Newcastle United secured a 5-1 aggregate win in their semi-final on Wednesday.
The home side were ruthless in the first half as Tijjani Reijnders also got on the scoresheet and now face Arsenal at Wembley on March 22 in a battle between City manager Pep Guardiola and his protege Mikel Arteta.
“We showed a very good mentality,” Marmoush told Sky Sports. “We were together as a team, from the first minute, we were very focused on the job. We showed our mentality and passion, and are very happy to reach the final.
“We are here to win trophies. We give our best every day to reach these finals and win silverware. Hopefully, we can do it for all the new players and also the players that were here.”
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, the last thing Newcastle needed was to concede early at the Etihad Stadium, but Marmoush’s shot deflected off defender Dan Burn and into the net inside six minutes.
The Egypt international added a second on the night with a close-range header from Antoine Semenyo’s cross. Marmoush has now scored 12 goals for City and five have come against Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium.
A rampant City scored a third before halftime and Semenyo was involved again as he created the chance for Reijnders to finish.
Newcastle pulled a goal back just past the hour mark when substitute Anthony Elanga showed quick feet to work a shooting chance and curled his effort past James Trafford in the home goal.
Elanga missed two superb chances to reduce the deficit further, one scarcely believable from right in front of the goal, while Erling Haaland brushed the post at the other end.
City won four League Cup titles in a row between 2018 and 2021 and have eight in all; only Liverpool (10) have won it more.
Arsenal have not lifted the trophy in 33 years and have two previous wins.
-Reuters
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