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
Carabao Cup
Liverpool Claim League Cup With 1-0 Extra-time Victory Over Chelsea –
![Liverpool Claim League Cup With 1-0 Extra-time Victory Over Chelsea -](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Liverpool-Claim-League-Cup-With-1-0-Extra-time-Victory-Over-Chelsea.jpg)
Liverpool won the League Cup by beating Chelsea 1-0 through a late extra-time goal from captain Virgil van Dijk after a fierce end-to-end battle at Wembley on Sunday.
Dutchman Van Dijk rose to meet a corner in the 118th minute and nodded home in front of cheering Liverpool fans.
The two teams had numerous chances in the first 90 minutes.
Both sides had goals ruled out after long VAR checks, with Raheem Sterling’s first-half effort for Chelsea cancelled out because Nicolas Jackson was offside in the build-up while Van Dijk’s second-half header was disallowed for an infringement by Wataru Endo.
Both teams also hit the post, Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo in the first half and Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher in the second.
It was the third Cup victory for Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool over Chelsea in two years, the Reds winning the League and FA Cups in 2022 after goalless draws and penalty shootouts.
-Reuters
Carabao Cup
League Cup Trophy A Part Of Final Chapter With Liverpool, Says Klopp –
![League Cup Trophy A Part Of Final Chapter With Liverpool, Says Klopp -](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/League-Cup-Trophy-A-Part-Of-Final-Chapter-With-Liverpool.jpg)
Winning the League Cup would be a crucial addition to the final segment of a memoir with Liverpool, the soon-to-depart manager Juergen Klopp said before his side’s final match against Chelsea.
Klopp has announced his decision to step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season, citing dwindling energy levels.
The 56-year-old, who is the only Liverpool manager to win six different major trophies, would dedicate the victory to everyone connected to the Merseyside club as part of his trophy-laden nine-year epoch.
“I want to win on Sunday but not for me or my trophy cabinet,” Klopp said of the League Cup final. “It is for the boys, for the club, for the people. That is much more important.
“We wrote, and we are still writing, a wonderful book, and when I leave we close that book and put it on the shelf and then someone else will write a wonderful book.
“Yes, there is space for some chapters. It is long. I am not there and writing the resume already? Not at all. I am 100% in trying to create a few special memories on top of what we have done.”
Klopp’s side have a lengthy injury list that could hinder their chances of securing a record-extending 10th League Cup triumph at Wembley, with the likes of Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson and Curtis Jones sidelined and forwards Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai doubtful for Sunday.
Liverpool’s most recent triumph came in the 2021-22 campaign when they also lifted the FA Cup, and narrowly missed securing a treble as they finished second in the Premier League.
-Reuters
Carabao Cup
Man United Keeper Onana Available For Wigan Cup Game –
![Man United Keeper Onana Available For Wigan Cup Game -](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Man-United-Keeper-Onana-Available-For-Wigan-Cup-Game.jpg)
Manchester United will have goalkeeper Andre Onana available for their FA Cup third-round match against Wigan Athletic, manager Erik ten Hag said on Thursday, following talks to delay his departure to the Africa Cup of Nations.
United play third-tier Wigan on Monday and Cameroon have a friendly scheduled for Tuesday against Zambia before they kick off the tournament against Guinea on Jan. 15.
“We’re talking with the Cameroon federation, it was an issue during the talks with Andre when he came in here (in July from Inter Milan),” Ten Hag told reporters. “It’s constructive.”
United, languishing eighth in the Premier League nine points adrift of the top four, host fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Jan. 14.
“I don’t know yet (if Onana will be available for Spurs) but he will be here for the game against Wigan,” Ten Hag said.
United had a roller-coaster festive period, beating Aston Villa 3-2 with a stunning comeback before a meek 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest that kept the pressure on Ten Hag following the takeover of United by Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group.
Ten Hag met Ratcliffe for the first time.
“We had a long meeting, so many hours we sit together, on many issues we were on the same page, very positive from both sides,” the manager said.
“I can say that it was a very constructive meeting and we’re looking forward to working with each other.”
Ten Hag said it was too early to expect much change to the team under the new ownership.
“We have to let it settle down, they’re just coming in, introducing themselves,” he said. “They have good ideas, we have to see what we can integrate. In togetherness we will work, but after one day you can’t tell that.
“They have given me a few (of their ideas), we have had our debates about strategies and I think we will come together.”
United have triggered options on contract extensions for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof and Hannibal Mejbri, Ten Hag said, adding that they were “talking with” Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial.
Ten Hag said there was no news on Jadon Sancho’s potential loan move to his former club Borussia Dortmund. Sancho has not played for United since late August when he complained about his treatment on social media after Ten Hag criticised his performances in training.
United, eliminated from Europe and the League Cup, have won the 12 FA Cup 12 times, most recently in 2016.
-Reuters
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