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
Tens of thousands of Newcastle United fans gathered in the city on Saturday to celebrate the club’s first domestic trophy in 70 years, with the streets turning a sea of black and white for the open-top bus parade.
Newcastle United Victory Parade – Newcastle, Britain – March 29, 2025 General view of Newcastle United fans during the victory parade REUTERS/Scott Heppel
About 150,000 people were expected to catch a glimpse of the League Cup that Newcastle lifted on March 16, after a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the final at Wembley Stadium.
For manager Eddie Howe, Saturday’s event was an emotional moment as the city honoured him with a massive banner, unfurled outside St James’ Park.
“I can’t thank everyone enough, from Newcastle, the way they’ve embraced me and my family and I’m glad to have given them some joy,” he said atop the bus that carried the team around the city.
As the bus and crowd approached the Town Moor site, white smoke blanketed the area as the crowd sang Hey Jude, replacing ‘Jude’ with ‘Geordies’, and ABBA music was played over the speakers for a party expected to last long into the night.
-Reuters
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Tottenham Hotspur survived a furious Manchester United comeback to reach the League Cup semi-finals with a 4-3 home victory in a gripping tie littered with bizarre errors on Thursday.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were cruising against a lacklustre United with Dominic Solanke’s double and a goal for Dejan Kulusevski putting them 3-0 up after 54 minutes.
But the home crowd were left chewing their fingernails as two terrible mistakes by their keeper Fraser Forster allowed substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo to give United hope.
There were still 20 minutes left when Diallo made it 3-2 and United were close to equalising on several occasions before Son Heung-min appeared to have sealed it in odd fashion, deceiving United keeper Altay Bayindir directly from a corner.
There was still time for Jonny Evans to head a third for United in stoppage time but a relieved Tottenham hung on.
Tottenham are seeking a first trophy since 2008 when they won the League Cup for the fourth time.
Postecoglou’s side let a 2-0 lead slip to lose 4-3 at home to Chelsea in their last home game and for a while it looked as though their innate ability to shoot themselves in the foot was coming back to bite them.
This time, however, the fans went home happy and Postecoglou moves a step closer to making good on his reputation for securing silverware in his second season at clubs.
Tottenham are at full stretch because of injuries but still dominated Ruben Amorim’s side which showed five changes to the starting lineup that stunned Manchester City on Sunday.
Solanke put the hosts in front in the 15th minute when Bayindir fumbled a well-hit shot by Pedro and the striker fired in the rebound off the post.
Bruno Fernandes had a couple of efforts and Rasmus Hojlund volleyed wide but Tottenham were comfortable and in cruise control straight after the interval when Lisandro Martinez could only turn a James Maddison cut-back into the path of Kulusevski who made no mistake.
Solanke was then allowed to dribble across the area before sliding a shot inside the post in the 54th minute and the tie looked over as a contest.
But Forster then played a casual pass out of his area and Fernandes intercepted and the ball reached Zirkzee to tap in.
Forster then compounded that error by taking an age to make a routine clearance and Diallo slid in to charge down his kick and divert the ball into the net.
Tottenham looked a bundle of nerves as United swept forward but captain Son restored calm with an inswinging corner that went over the head of Bayindir to ripple the net.
Substitute Evans’ riposte came too late to save United who will regret the way they started the tie.
-Reuters
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.
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