Carabao Cup
IHEANACHO SCORES IN LEICESTER SEMIFINAL LEAGUE CUP LOSS
Trezeguet struck deep into stoppage time to send Aston Villa into their first League Cup final for a decade with a 2-1 win over Leicester on Tuesday (Jan 28) to progress to Wembley 3-2 on aggregate.
Matt Target’s early opener put Villa in front, but Leicester enjoyed the majority of possession and chances and finally found a way past Orjan Nyland when Kelechi Iheanacho levelled 18 minutes from time.
However, Villa snatched victory and a trip to Wembley on March 1 to face Manchester City or Manchester United when Trezeguet connected perfectly with fellow Egyptian Ahmed Elmohamady’s cross three minutes into added time.
Defeat ends Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers’s run of winning 31 straight domestic cup ties after a dominant spell at Celtic and he will rue his side’s inability to turn their dominance of the game into goals.
The visitors started with top scorer Jamie Vardy on the bench as he was eased back into action after a glute injury, but the Foxes still blasted out of the traps.
Iheanacho was denied in the first of a string of big saves by Nyland in the Villa goal inside the first three minutes.
James Maddison then had a hat-trick of efforts, two of which brought saves from Nyland.
However, it was Villa who struck first when the impressive Jack Grealish teed up Targett to fire across Kasper Schmeichel 12 minutes in.
Nyland may not even have played if Villa’s new number one Pepe Reina had been fit to play, but the Norwegian was inspired as he then produced his best save of the night to turn Youri Tielemans’s piledriver onto the bar.
Maddison was furious moments later when he saw another effort repelled by the arm of Marvelous Nakamba.
Mbwana Samatta was making his Villa debut after a £8.5 million (S$15 million) switch from Genk, but his first experience of Villa Park is not one the Tanzanian will remember fondly as he somehow failed to turn home another brilliant Grealish delivery early in the second half.
That could have proved the knockout blow for Leicester, but instead they were very much back in the tie when an explosive burst from Harvey Barnes teed up Iheanacho to finish.
Jonny Evans and Maddison then came close to putting Rodgers’s men in front.
But just when both sides seemed to be preparing for extra-time, Leicester were hit with a sucker punch when Elmohamady’s cross was volleyed into the bottom corner by his compatriot.
Trezeguet had to be hauled from the field by Villa security personnel after he was mobbed in a pitch invasion after the final whistle as the home fans celebrated wildly.
–AFP
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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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