Capital One Cup round-up: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool through to fourth round
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Premier League sides in the Third round of the Capital One Cup. While Manchester United and Chelsea secured comfortable wins, Arsenal had to count on an unlikely hero to beat their North London rivals while Liverpool needed penalties to beat League Two side Carlisle United.
Under-fire Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was made to sweat by League Two side Carlisle United, who hung on till the end before losing 3-2 on penalties. While there is 65 places between the two sides in the Football League ladder, nothing could separate the two teams on the night as the game went to penalties.
Mathieu Flamini’s brace ensured Arsenal progressed to the fourth round of the Capital One Cup after beating Tottenham 2-1 at White Hart Lane on Wednesday.
The Gunners, who were looking to bounce back after their demoralising defeat to Chelsea during the weekend, where they had two players sent off, got off to the perfect start as they took the lead. It was an unlikely scorer though, as Flamini tapped home from close range after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s shot was parried by Michel Vorm.
Spurs got their equaliser early in the second half as Calum Chambers diverted Nacer Chadli’s cross that was heading safely into David Ospina’s hands into the net. But Flamini’s second of the game, a fantastic volley from outside the box was enough to send the Gunners through in place of their rivals.
Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Walsall ensured that the club were in the news for all the right reasons following a tumultuous few days that has seen Diego Costa banned for three games and club doctor Eva Carneiro threatening legal action.
Despite fielding a side that was bereft of several key players, the Blues always seemed in control of the contest and Ramires’ header in the tenth minute confirmed that dominance. Loic Remy made it 2-0 with two minutes of the first half still to play. Although the hosts scored right on the stroke of half-time, it was more than a consolation.
Kenedy scored seven minutes into the second half and Pedro added the Capital One Cup to the list of competitions he has scored in with a low 20-yard strike late in the game.
Unlike last season, when they lost 4-0 to MK Dons, there was no slip-ups for Manchester United in this season’s competition as they sailed through to the next round with a comfortable 3-0 win over a much-changed Ipswich side.
Wayne Rooney’s first domestic goal of the season gave the Red Devils a deserved lead in the first half. Andreas Pereira, who was making his Manchester United debut doubled the lead in the second half with a sublime free kick. But it was Anthony Martial again, this time from the bench, who had the final say as he scored his fourth goal for the club in three games to send his side through.
Round-up
Three goals inside the first half hour meant that MK Dons hopes of repeating last season’s shock win over top-flight opposition was short-lived as they were soundly beaten by Southampton.
Jay Rodriguez opened the scoring for the Saints, who doubled their lead inside 10 minutes thanks to Sadio Mane. The 23-year-old then doubled his tally for the game with a composed finish before Rodriguez scored another from the penalty spot to make it 4-0 inside 50 minutes. There was still time though for Shane Long to become the third player to score a brace in the game as he added two more in seven minutes to secure a comprehensive 6-0 win.
Premier League’s high-flyers Crystal Palace, continued their fantastic start to the season by beating Championship side Charlton Athletic 4-1 thanks to a Dwight Gayle hat-trick. After a goalless first-half, three goals were scored in 20 second half minutes as the Eagles led 2-1. With the game perfectly poised, Alou Diarra’s sending off proved crucial as Gayle scored twice in 12 minutes to send Alan Pardew’s side into the fourth round.
While their former manager is flying high, Newcastle United’s descended ever deeper into the mire as they were dumped out of the competition by Sheffield Wednesday. Steve McLaren’s side are yet to win a game this season and Lewis McGugan’s 76th minute strike was enough to put further pressure on the Magpies manager, whose head might already be on the chopping block.
In the all Premier League clash, Norwich emerged 3-0 victors over West Brom thanks to three goals in the final half hour. The hosts who had earlier hit the post, opened the scoring thanks to Matt Jarvis on the hour mark. Kyle Lafferty scored with five minutes to go and an own goal on the stroke of full time ensured a comfortable victory margin for Alex Neil’s side.