The Carabao Cup 4th Round almost felt like another Premier League match week, as only three out of eight fixtures featured teams from the EFL. Brentford and Southampton had quite the struggle on Tuesday, but Wednesday saw the winners cruise to relatively comfortable victories.
Premier League champions Manchester City were handed an early exit by Spurs, and Carabao Cup holders Liverpool survived off the brilliance of Cody Gakpo. Stoke City fought bravely against the Saints but qualification eluded them, courtesy of James Bree’s late winner.
Here's how the games played out.
Southampton 3-2 Stoke City
It was advantage Southampton very quickly in the game, as the Saints went 2-nil up within 35 minutes. Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed home from a Mateus Fernandes corner in the 19th minute to open the scoring, and Adam Armstrong converted from the spot to double the lead in the 35th minute.
Stoke City mounted a superb comeback from then on, as Ashley Philips tapped from a failed clearance in the Southampton box on the stroke of half-time. Tom Cannon rifled home in the 54h minute to cap a flowing team move that started with Andre Vidigal dispossessing Lesley Ugochukwu.
Tatsuki Seko couldn't get his finish over the goal line, as a goal line clearance spared Aaron Ramsdale and Southampton their blushes. The decider came from the Southampton left back James Bree, whose right-footed drive from outside the box had the right pace to beat Jack Bonham’s dive at his near post.
Brentford 1(5)-(4)1 Sheffield Wednesday
The second fixture of the round saw another EFL side put up a strong showing against a Premier League team. Sheffield Wednesday held out against Brentford for all of 120 minutes, forcing the Bees to settle the fixture on spot-kicks.
Brentford took the lead through a Kevin Schade finish in the 11th minute, after Keane Lewis-Potter lobbed a pass onto the path of the onrushing striker. It took two tries, but the striker ensured his team got the early advantage.
Sheffield Wednesday took a while to respond, and it was off a loose ball. Djeidi Gassama nicked the ball off his marker and drove forward before lashing unstoppably past a diving Mark Flekken in the 57th minute. The game was end to end from there, with both teams getting a flurry of half chances, even throughout the added extra time.
The tie was decided on the final kick, as Liam Palmer saw his penalty kick saved by Flekken.
Brighton 2-3 Liverpool
Two of the nominees for Premier League Manager of the Month for October faced off on Wednesday, as Brighton hosted the Reds at the Amex stadium. The first half saw both teams create chances and draw excellent saves from their keepers; the goals came in the second period.
Liverpool went through, but they will have Cody Gakpo’s brilliance to thank for providing the needed spark. The wide-man opted for a shot on two occasions where many other wingers would have played in their teammates, and the Reds were two goals to the good by the 63rd minute.
Simon Adingra pulled one back for the Seagulls 18 minutes later, after a Jarell Quansah backpass was usurped by Evan Ferguson. The Irishman’s effort was saved by Vitezslav Jaros, but the Ivorian was on hand to ensure the goal stood.
It was another moment of brilliance from Luis Diaz that restored the two-goal cushion for Liverpool in the 85th minute it, as the winger kept his composure in the Brighton box to slip his finish beneath Jason Steele. Tariq Lamptey had been a major attacking threat for Brighton all game and the fullback finally got his name on the scoreboard in the 90th minute, even though his deflected strike wasn’t enough to help the Seagulls to the quarterfinals.
Preston North End 0-3 Arsenal
The Gunners had it relatively easy against their EFL opponents Preston North End, as the attack kept creating chance after chance to devastating effect. Raheem Sterling was a running menace for the Gunners, and a goal contribution was the missing part of his gameplay on Wednesday.
Gabriel Jesus notched his first goal of the season, latching home in the 24th minute from a cushioned header by Jakub Kiwior. The striker turned provider nine minutes later, setting up 17-year-old attacking midfielder Ethan Nwaneri for a special curler for an Arsenal second.
Second-half substitute Kai Havertz notched a brilliant header in the 57th minute from a Jakub Kiwior cross, moments after Jesus scuffed his, making it three for the Gunners. Preston did cause their fair share of trouble, but the Arsenal defense–and Tom Setford–dealt with them appropriately every time. Sterling also missed an almost clear chance for a goal later on, after Kai Havertz set up the veteran winger, as his shot was saved by a goal-line clearance to keep the scores intact.
Newcastle 2-0 Chelsea
We got a rematch from last Sunday’s Premier League clash between Chelsea and Newcastle, this time at Saint James Park., and the Magpies came out on top this time. Sandro Tonali and Alexander Isak took advantage of a poor pass from Renato Veiga and duly punished the Blues with an opener on home turf.
The Brazilian midfielder made a similar error minutes later, although the Chelsea defense could rally around in time to stem the danger. It was still quite close, as the resulting shot from Tonali whizzed past the right post. The second goal was moments after too, as it all seemed to be going down a little too quickly for the Blues.
Isak’s floated cross was deflected slightly and while Joe Willock got a head to it, it was Axel Disasi’s legs that helped the header over the line to put the game firmly in Newcastle’s hands. Sean Longstaff looked to have made it 3-nil, but he was offside before heading home from Fabian Schar’s cushioned header.
It was a fairly dominant display from Newcastle, as they cruised comfortably past Chelsea, undoing the loss at Stamford Bridge earlier in the week.
Manchester United 5-2 Leicester City
The most prolific match of the round saw six goals fly in during the first half between Manchester United and Leicester City. Both teams were not shy of taking their chances, and even the Red Devils managed to look rather ferocious on Wednesday night.
The scoring spree started with Casemiro’s screamer, as the midfielder let fly from range to beat Danny Ward in the 15th minute. Diogo Dalot played in an inviting low cross and Alejandro Garnacho did the rest with a calm finish. Bilal El-Khannous halved the deficit in the 33rd minute, but that only fueled the Red Devils.
Bruno Fernandes got on the scoresheet via a deflected freekick, and Casemiro notched his second of the match after his header from Marcus Rashford’s cross hit the upright. Conor Coady got a second before halftime, but the game was slipping out of the Foxes’ grasp.
The second half was a formality of sorts, but that didn't stop the Manchester United players from pressing constantly. Fernandes scored his second goal after pouncing on a loose ball and rounding Ward; Amad Diallo also got behind the ball with a bicycle kick, but his effort was wide.
It was a brilliant showing from United under Ruud van Nistelrooy, and they must be looking to build on it in the coming weeks.
Aston Villa 1-2 Crystal Palace
The Villans have enjoyed quite the start to the season, especially with talent like John Duran coming off the bench. Their opponents from South London have struggled at some point this season, making it even more surprising that Palace qualified over Aston Villa.
Eberechi Eze broke the deadlock for Crystal Palace in the eighth minute, heading home from a Daniel Munoz cross to give the home side the advantage. The in-form Jhon Duran equalized for Aston Villa 15 minutes after, dragging his shot at the near post to beat Matt Turner.
The Villans passed up several chances to bury the game, and it was Daichi Kamada who secured qualification for the Eagles off an Aston Villa error in defense. The substitute nicked the ball off some loose passing and beat Joe Gauci at his near post, settling the match in the 64th minute.
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Manchester City
City's exit was the most unexpected of the lot, yet with good reason. It was a rotated squad that traveled to London, missing Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri–they were always bound to struggle against Spurs.
Ange Postecoglou’s men got off the mark early, with Timo Werner slotting home from a Dejan Kulusevski cross in the fifth minute. The cushion came 20 minutes later when Pape Mater Sarr struck home about 20 yards out from another Kulusevski offload to double Spurs’ advantage.
Matheus Nunes seemed to be the brightest spark in City’s attack, and the Portuguese got his reward even before halftime. He latched onto Savinho’s cross in the first-half stoppages and calmly sent his effort at the back post to reduce the deficit. The second half saw a lot of huffing and puffing, with Werner going closest to scoring and Yves Bissouma making a goal-line clearance, but the scoreboard remained intact.
What's next?
The Carabao Cup draws have been made and it is an all-Premier League team affair. It will be Spurs to take on the recovering Manchester United, a North-South London derby between Arsenal and Crystal Palace, Newcastle taking on Brentford, and another North-South affair as Southampton face off against Liverpool.
For now, attention returns to the Premier League weekend, as Newcastle kick-off against Arsenal at Saints James Park.
