Carabao Cup
MOURINHO FOCUSED ON SPURS’ TOP-FOUR BATTLE, NOT LEAGUE CUP FINAL
This month’s League Cup final offers Tottenham Hotspur a chance to salvage something from a season that has unravelled alarmingly but manager Jose Mourinho says finishing in the Premier League top four is the immediate focus.
A 3-1 home defeat by Manchester United last weekend put a huge dent in Spurs’ hopes of finishing in the top four and Friday’s (April 16) clash at Everton now looks like a match they cannot afford to lose if they are to stay in the race.
The loss to United left Tottenham in seventh, six points behind fourth-placed West Ham United and only one point above Everton, who have a game in hand, in the race for European places ahead of the clash at Goodison Park.
“Of course the Goodison match is very important. The distance between the two teams is very, very short. Of course they have one match in hand,” Mourinho told reporters.
“They have similar objectives to us. They are going to fight with us, and with other clubs, to try the best possible position, and see if we and them can get a European position.”
After the Everton game, Spurs host Southampton in the league before the Wembley clash with Manchester City in the League Cup final when the London club will be trying to lift their first silverware since they won the trophy against Chelsea in 2008.
“Independent of the result at Goodison, and the result against Southampton, as you say, big nine days and the nine days are going to end with a cup final,” Mourinho, who was hired specifically to end the club’s trophy drought, said.
“We need to separate the waters. We need to say: the cup final is important, but is not the match tomorrow, we need to focus totally on a very difficult match.”
Tottenham took the lead against Manchester United but conceded three goals in the second half. They have now conceded 18 points from winning positions this season and Mourinho was again asked why they cannot hold on to leads.
“A team that starts matches well and starts winning matches means something positive, means something positive that (the media) like to forget – the positive aspect of that,” he said.
“But I agree with you in the sense that if you’re in winning positions and you lose points from winning positions, there are also negative things side-by-side to it.”
Pushed to explain, he added: “That’s what I’m not ready to discuss with you. I think it has to do with some of our qualities as a team but I’m not ready to discuss with you.”
Mourinho has a virtually full-strength squad ahead of Friday, with only full backs Matt Doherty and Ben Davies unavailable.
“After 51 matches or so, in the last couple of months of the season to arrive in this situation with only two players injured, we cannot complain because the work has been good and the squad as a whole is in good condition,” he said.
-Reuters
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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