Carabao Cup
MOURINHO FOCUSED ON SPURS’ TOP-FOUR BATTLE, NOT LEAGUE CUP FINAL
This month’s League Cup final offers Tottenham Hotspur a chance to salvage something from a season that has unravelled alarmingly but manager Jose Mourinho says finishing in the Premier League top four is the immediate focus.
A 3-1 home defeat by Manchester United last weekend put a huge dent in Spurs’ hopes of finishing in the top four and Friday’s (April 16) clash at Everton now looks like a match they cannot afford to lose if they are to stay in the race.
The loss to United left Tottenham in seventh, six points behind fourth-placed West Ham United and only one point above Everton, who have a game in hand, in the race for European places ahead of the clash at Goodison Park.
“Of course the Goodison match is very important. The distance between the two teams is very, very short. Of course they have one match in hand,” Mourinho told reporters.
“They have similar objectives to us. They are going to fight with us, and with other clubs, to try the best possible position, and see if we and them can get a European position.”
After the Everton game, Spurs host Southampton in the league before the Wembley clash with Manchester City in the League Cup final when the London club will be trying to lift their first silverware since they won the trophy against Chelsea in 2008.
“Independent of the result at Goodison, and the result against Southampton, as you say, big nine days and the nine days are going to end with a cup final,” Mourinho, who was hired specifically to end the club’s trophy drought, said.
“We need to separate the waters. We need to say: the cup final is important, but is not the match tomorrow, we need to focus totally on a very difficult match.”
Tottenham took the lead against Manchester United but conceded three goals in the second half. They have now conceded 18 points from winning positions this season and Mourinho was again asked why they cannot hold on to leads.
“A team that starts matches well and starts winning matches means something positive, means something positive that (the media) like to forget – the positive aspect of that,” he said.
“But I agree with you in the sense that if you’re in winning positions and you lose points from winning positions, there are also negative things side-by-side to it.”
Pushed to explain, he added: “That’s what I’m not ready to discuss with you. I think it has to do with some of our qualities as a team but I’m not ready to discuss with you.”
Mourinho has a virtually full-strength squad ahead of Friday, with only full backs Matt Doherty and Ben Davies unavailable.
“After 51 matches or so, in the last couple of months of the season to arrive in this situation with only two players injured, we cannot complain because the work has been good and the squad as a whole is in good condition,” he said.
-Reuters
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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