Carabao Cup
Man United crash out of League Cup
Manchester United crashed out of the League Cup as West Ham avenged their painful loss to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford, while Chelsea and Tottenham survived penalty shoot-outs to reach the fourth round on Wednesday (Sept 22).
The Hammers suffered a gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat against United in the Premier League on Sunday when David De Gea saved Mark Noble’s stoppage-time penalty after Jesse Lingard’s late winner.
But David Moyes’ men got a measure of revenge three days later as Manuel Lanzini’s first-half goal dumped United out in the third round.
It was a frustrating night for United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who saw another route to silverware blocked as he chases his first trophy in the Old Trafford hot seat.
“You want to go through but it is a long season, we gave it a good go. They got a goal and after that, we played well for long periods, gave it a go and stats don’t mean anything. When you have 27 shots, the boys have given it a go,” the Norwegian insisted.
He made 11 changes and Moyes opted for 10 alterations, with West Ham’s understudies making the most of their moment in the spotlight.
Ryan Fredericks ghosted past Alex Telles and cut back for Lanzini to sweep past United goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the ninth minute.
That was enough for Moyes to secure a first win over United since they sacked the Scot after less than a season in charge in 2014.
It was also West Ham’s first victory at Old Trafford since 2007.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.
Much-maligned German forward Timo Werner headed Chelsea into the lead in the 54th minute, finishing off Reece James’ cross for his first goal in 11 games.
With Villa fan Prince William watching from the stands, 19-year-old striker Cameron Archer equalised in the 64th minute with a close-range header from Matty Cash’s cross.
James scored Chelsea’s winning penalty in the shoot-out after Ashley Young and Marvelous Nakamba missed for Villa.
Kane back on track
Harry Kane ended his goal drought as Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo knocked out his former club Wolves 3-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at Molineux.
Tanguy Ndombele gave Tottenham a 14th-minute lead when he charged down Conor Coady’s clearance and shot past John Ruddy.
Kane, without a goal in his four previous games, increased Tottenham’s advantage after 23 minutes.
Dele Alli’s perfect pass sent Kane clear and the England captain found the bottom corner.
Leander Dendoncker pulled one back for Wolves seven minutes before the break when he headed in Rayan Ait-Nouri’s corner.
Daniel Podence levelled 13 minutes into the second half from Dendoncker’s pass.
In the shootout, Dendoncker, Ruben Neves and Coady all missed for Wolves.
Arsenal eased to a 3-0 win against third tier AFC Wimbledon at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners, featuring 10 changes from the weekend win at Burnley, went ahead in the 11th minute.
Gabriel Martinelli was fouled by Nesta Guinness-Walker and Alexandre Lacazette slotted home the penalty.
Emile Smith-Rowe doubled the lead in the 77th minute and Eddie Nketiah’s impudent flick wrapped up the win three minutes later.
Ademola Lookman scored his first Leicester goal in a 2-0 win at second tier Millwall.
Lookman, making his maiden Leicester start following his loan move from RB Leipzig, netted five minutes into the second half with a cool strike after Kelechi Iheanacho’s effort was saved by George Long.
Iheanacho got on the scoresheet himself, driving into the roof of the net in the 88th minute.
Brighton manager Graham Potter enjoyed a 2-0 win against his former club Swansea thanks to a first half brace from Aaron Connolly at the Amex Stadium.
Reuters/AFP
Carabao Cup
Manchester United put seven goals past Barnsley to progress in League Cup
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
Carabao Cup
Liverpool Claim League Cup With 1-0 Extra-time Victory Over Chelsea –
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 –
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
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