Carabao Cup
TOTTENHAM BEAT CHELSEA ON PENALTIES TO ADVANCE IN CARABAO CUP
Tottenham are in the last eight of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night after beating Chelsea on penalties.
At the end of an absurd tie, Mason Mount missed the 10th kick of the shootout and Spurs went through in a competition written off by Jose Mourinho.
The Tottenham manager had bemoaned a fixture schedule that left them unable to compete for the lesser pickings. But, having gone behind to Timo Werner’s first-half strike, they levelled through Erik Lamela before triumphing in the shootout.
Penalties was an appropriate end for a berserk match of drama, tantrums and, in the case of Eric Dier, an unscheduled toilet break.
It started with Werner’s first goal for Chelsea on 19 minutes, which for the better part of an hour appeared to be enough to put his side through.
Spurs had been dreadful for much of the first half but finally managed to apply pressure in the second. They had a flurry of chances, two of which were well saved by Chelsea’s new goalkeeping hope Edouard Mendy, but appeared to be heading out in a blitz of anger.
Mourinho seemed ready to blow, but they were saved by Lamela’s equaliser seven minutes from time.
Despite Tottenham’s win, there will be further questions over the future of Dele Alli. In the ongoing saga of his place at Spurs, he was dropped for a fourth matchday squad out of four. If it is the end for Alli, then what a shame. And what a waste, too.
Of course, it could be just one more twist in the Mourinho shuffle — another cold shoulder to make Alli run hot. Or maybe it is just what it looks like — a loss of trust and the start of a goodbye. With Mourinho, in his world of thick smoke and circus mirrors, it really is so hard to tell.
But the brighter prognosis, that this is all a prelude to a grand revival, does feel a little like wishful thinking. Just as it felt timely when the stadium staff decided partway through the warm-ups to show footage of Alli’s magnificent lob over Arsenal in this competition two years ago.
While that homage to the past played out on the big screens, the newer blood had their chances below. For Spurs, featuring nine changes to cater for their third game in five days, that meant a debut for Sergio Reguilon, at left wing back next to three centre halves in a tweaked system.
Only Dier and Hugo Lloris were retained from the Newcastle draw, but no towels were being thrown in. In the context of selection, they were weakened, but far from weak. So perish the thought that Mourinho may have attempted to mislead with a few of his pre-match comments, but the waiting presence of Harry Kane on the bench suggested his manager held more than a passing interest in going through.
Lampard made eight changes but also put out a strong side, with Mendy given his debut in goal and Ben Chilwell handed a first start.
The upshot of that tinkering? Chelsea dominated. And Spurs let them. Or perhaps that is the kind interpretation of a Mourinho strategy that seemed geared towards counter-attacks but which didn’t deliver on the second part of the brief.
So while Chelsea pushed, and indeed held 71 per cent of the possession for the first 45 minutes, Spurs sat deep, swallowed up what they could, and looked bloated any time they attempted to get off the couch.
The early warnings that might not work came from Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who each saw enough of goal to get off shots.
The breakthrough followed on 19 minutes after an unforced error, and cruelly it was also the opening contribution in a Spurs shirt for Reguilon. His first mistake was to get caught in possession by Cesar Azpilicueta, and he was then quickly dropped on his backside in buying a feint from the Spaniard when attempting his recovery. From there, Azpilicueta rolled low to Werner and the German finished well.
The only sign of life from Spurs came when Mourinho had an entertaining row with Lampard on the sidelines. At one point he told his former player to back off and Lampard held his ground. To think, they all used to listen.
In terms of Spurs chances, it was a limited bunch. One attack that saw Gedson Fernandes close on goal, only for Kurt Zouma to stop him with a tackle of quite brilliant precision. Erik Lamela also got a shot off that Mendy saved well with his feet. Maybe Lampard’s goalkeeping worries are drawing to a close.
He managed a second excellent save early in the second half in rerouting a Reguilon drive over the bar, and by that point Spurs were managing a period of consistent pressure. Both Steven Bergwijn and Serge Aurier had chances in a stretch of 15 or so minutes when Chelsea struggled to break from their half.
But for all the improvement, there was no cigar. Kane came on with 20 minutes remaining and with his only opening, hooked a shot off his left boot over the bar. That appeared to be it for Spurs, before Lamela stretched onto a Reguilon cross and nudged in the equaliser.
The first nine penalties were all converted in order by Eric Dier, Tammy Abraham, Erik Lamela, Cesar Azpilicueta, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Jorginho, Lucas Moura and Emerson, before Mount’s kick was saved by Hugo Lloris.
Daily Mail
Ethan Chidiebere Nwaneri, Nigerian parentage, scored a brace for Arsenal in their Carabao Cup third round 5-1 defeat of Bolton Wanderers at the Emirate Stadium on Wednesday.
Those were the first goals of the 17-year old for the club.
He made his English Premier League debut against Brentford in September 2022, becoming the youngest ever Arsenal player, and the youngest player to appear in the top flight of English football aged just 15.
In Tuesday’s League Cup match, Declan Rice opened scoring for Arsenal with a goal from 18 yards out in the 16th minute before Nwaneri made his presence felt in the 37th, latching onto a cross from Sterling to finish into an empty net from close range.
Nwaneri netted his second of the night soon after the break when West Ham were caught trying to play out from the back and Rice found the teenager who finished from just inside the penalty area.
Sterling, on loan from Chelsea, and Havertz put the game out of reach with goals in the 64th and 77th minutes.
Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece as holders Liverpool thrashed West Ham United 5-1 at Anfield on Wednesday to cruise into the fourth round of the League Cup in another solid performance from Arne Slot’s side.
Mohamed Salah was also on target for Liverpool who fell behind and endured some nervy moments before pulling away for a comfortable victory.
“I do feel like in most parts of the game we had control,” Slot said. “We had a large part of ball possession, particularly in the first half.”
Arsenal crushed third-tier Bolton Wanderers 5-1 in the evening’s other League Cup tie.
West Ham — who were reduced to 10 men when Edson Alvarez was shown a second yellow card in the 76th minute — opened the scoring at Anfield when Wataru Endo’s attempt to clear a corner ricocheted off Jarell Quansah and past keeper Caoimhin Kelleher for an own goal.
The Hammers’ celebrations were short-lived as Jota equalised four minutes later, leaping to head home Federico Chiesa’s acrobatic volley.
Jota netted his second in the 49th minute when Curtis Jones slotted a reverse pass to the Portuguese player who scored into the bottom corner.
“It’s important when you’re down to get that (equaliser) as quick as possible and to score at Anfield, it’s always special so happy to help the team,” Jota told Sky Sports.
Talisman Salah made it 3-1 in the 74th when he knocked in the rebound off Alexis Mac Allister’s shot, and then Alvarez was sent off two minutes later following a late challenge.
Gakpo added to Liverpool’s lead with goals in the 90th and 93rd minutes, his first a fantastic strike from 17 yards out after a one-two with Darwin Nunez.
“The last 20 minutes we didn’t manage well,” said West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui. “The players made a big effort. I’m sorry for our fans.”
The Reds captured a record 10th League Cup title last season, manager Juergen Klopp’s final trophy with the team before he stepped down at the end of the campaign.
New manager Slot has barely missed a beat. The Reds sit a point behind Manchester City in second in the Premier League after five games. They also opened their Champions League campaign with a victory over AC Milan last week.
“We have just one defeat,” Jota said. “We are still progressing, still developing our ideas — but only by winning games you become better so we are happy.
“It’s hard but we want to win again obviously, we are the reigning champions.”
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen all scored twice as the Old Trafford side roared into the last 16 of the League Cup with a 7-0 rout of third-tier Barnsley on Tuesday.
United were joined in the fourth round by fellow Premier League sides Brentford, who beat third-tier Leyton Orient 3-1, and Crystal Palace after they edged Queen’s Park Rangers 2-1.
Top flight Fulham were knocked out in extraordinary fashion by second-tier Preston North End after the match ended 1-1 — the home side prevailing 16-15 in a 34-penalty shootout, the longest-ever in the competition.
United manager Erik Ten Hag has endured a rocky time since taking over in 2022 but enjoyed the biggest win of his reign.
England forward Rashford ended a six-month goal drought at the weekend when he scored against Southampton in the Premier League and needed only 16 minutes to strike against Barnsley.
His silky finish high into the net paved the way for United to demolish Barnsley who were no match for Ten Hag’s side.
Antony added the second from the penalty spot in the 35th minute and Garnacho poked home United’s third in first-half stoppage time to put the hosts in complete control.
Garnacho side-footed his second from Rashford’s pass just after the restart and returned the compliment as Rashford made it 5-0. Eriksen scored his first United goal for more than a year in the 81st minute, slotting in Bruno Fernandes’s cross.
Eriksen then fired in from the edge of the area to complete United’s biggest-ever League Cup win and their biggest margin of victory since Ten Hag took charge in 2022.
United’s previous biggest wins under the Dutchman were 4-1 defeats of Real Betis and Chelsea.
“Football is football. Sometimes you have ups and sometimes downs, but we have to use these games to get momentum and consistency,” Rashford said.
Ten Hag added: “I thought the first goal from Marcus was really good, but so were the rest. We played with a lot of speed and were ruthless in front of goal. The key was the right attitude and to be 100% concentrated.”
BASEMENT BATTLE
The Premier League’s bottom two clubs met at Goodison Park and there was more woe for Everton as they bowed out on penalties to Southampton after a 1-1 draw.
Abdoulaye Doucoure put Everton ahead but Southampton levelled through Taylor Harwood-Bellis and the visitors won 6-5 in the shootout. Eleven penalties hit the net before Ashley Young saw his effort saved by Alex McCarthy.
Brentford were given an early scare when Brandon Cooper put Orient in front but Fabio Carvalho equalised in acrobatic fashion. Mikel Damsgaard headed Brentford in front and Christian Norgaard ensured progress for Thomas Frank’s team.
Eddie Nketiah scored his first goal for Crystal Palace since moving from Arsenal and Eberechi Eze struck the winner against his old club Queen’s Park Rangers to send the visitors through.
Sheffield Wednesday won 1-0 at Blackpool, while Championship (second-tier) side Stoke City needed penalties to get past fourth-tier Fleetwood Town 2-1 after being held to a 1-1 draw.
The remaining third round ties will be played on Wednesday and next week, concluding with holders Liverpool at home fellow Premier League side West Ham United on Sept. 25.
-Reuters
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