Tottenham Hotspur secured a thrilling 2-1 victory over Manchester City to advance to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup. Timo Werner ended his drought of 18 games by scoring the opening goal in the fifth minute, setting the tone for the Spurs’ win. Pape Sarr added another to the tally with a magnificent strike in the first half.
City managed to pull one back just before the break with a goal from Matheus Nunes. However, despite City exerting pressure in the second half and coming close to equalising in the 89th minute, Tottenham dominantly withheld the onslaught. This win not only takes Spurs closer to ending their 16-year trophyless run but also handed City their first lose of the season.
Ange Postecoglou, however, had a mixed evening as he lost Micky van de Ven to an injury, while City’s Savinho had to be stretchered off. The physical toll of the game was apparent due to the busy fixture schedule.
In the early stages of the game, Tottenham impressively played from the back, with Brennan Johnson setting up a clinical cross for Werner to finish effectively. Later, Sarr scored Tottenham’s second after a crafty combination from Werner and Kulusevski from a short corner. City had their chances but could only manage to pull one back during the first-half injury time, with Nunes scoring from a Savinho cross.
Dominating performance by Spurs wasn’t only limited to their forward line but also stood tall in defense, denying City again in the 89th minute, preventing the game from going into penalties. Despite the absence of Erling Haaland, who Pep Guardiola chose not to bring on, Spurs proved to be stronger on the night.
After suffering a loss in Premier League, Newcastle redeemed themselves by beating Chelsea 2-0 in a surprising first-half performance to progress to the quarter-finals. Newcastle’s triumph was primarily owed to goals scored by Alexander Isak and Axel Disasi. Isak took advantage of a mistake in Chelsea’s defence, opening the scoring sequence for Newcastle. The second goal soon followed, when Willock’s header, deflected by Disasi turned the score 2-0.
Chelsea, striving for a recovery, proved to be stronger during the second half but couldn’t make good of an opportunity for goal redemption when Joao Felix missed a shot. The usually runner-up team was uninspiring throughout the match and was unable to turn the tables.
The memorable first goal came at the 23rd minute when Joelinton snatched a careless pass from Benoit Badiashile which caught Veiga off guard. This was then followed by a pass to Isak who, without waste of time, shot the ball to the bottom corner. Isak spearheaded another successful play after Tonali’s near-to-scoring strike, setting up a free-kick opportunity to Willock whose deflected header was matched by Disasi to score the second goal.
In another matchup, Arsenal advance to the quarter-finals with a 3-0 success over Preston North End, courtesy of a skillful goal from 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri and the season’s first goal from Gabriel Jesus. Kai Havertz also did his part in the victory, stepping in from the sidelines to contribute the third goal. The match further deepened Preston’s unenviable record of 185 games in the competition without advancing to the last eight.
The opener by Arsenal came at the 24th minute when Jesus converted a volley from a deep free-kick by Gabriel Martinelli that was met by Jakub Kiwior.
Nwaneri capitalised on a high difficulty opportunity after missing an easier shot, scoring for England three minutes later due to a skillful assist by Jesus. His shot curled beautifully into the top left of the Preston team’s goal post. Following this, Havertz increased Arsenal’s advantage to three, scoring his seventh goal for the season within 11 minutes into the second half, skillfully receiving Kiwior’s cross and heading it past keeper Freddie Woodman.
In a match of Crystal Palace against Aston Villa ending in a 2-1 victory to the former, Crystal Palace continues to have a promising season. Fresh off their victory over Tottenham which began their Premier League success, Palace secured their quarter-final position in the League Cup. This was accomplished through goals scored by Eberechi Eze and Daichi Kamada, despite a midway equaliser by Jhon Duran.
However, this was overshadowed by injuries to Eze and Adam Wharton during the first half. The initial goal was secured in the early eight-minute mark as Daniel Munoz provided a cross that connected with Eze, who directed the ball into the lower corner of the net.
Villa scored an equaliser in the 23rd minute, thanks to Kamara’s command of the ball and Bailey’s skill, which allowed Duran to score. However, their error in the 64th minute, when Diego Carlos made a miscalculated pass, allowed Kamada to send the ball home from just outside the box. Lacking options for serious offensive rearrangements from the bench, Villa could only watch as Palace maintained their lead comfortably.