Liverpool are the winners of EFL/Carabao Cup 2023/24 after defeating Chelsea 0-1 in Extra Time

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Tottenham go out in the very first round!

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Richarlison scores but Fulham beat Spurs in shootout

Richarlison scored but could not prevent Tottenham going out of the Carabao Cup as Fulham won a penalty shootout to progress to round three.

After a Micky van de Ven first-half own goal gave Fulham a deserved lead, Spurs levelled in unusual circumstances.

The home side were temporarily reduced to 10 men when Kenny Tete had to change his boot and Spurs took full advantage when Richarlison headed in.

But Davinson Sanchez's penalty was saved as Fulham won the shootout.

It was Tete - with a new boot on - who scored the decisive spot-kick to send the home side through.

It was ultimately a deserved win for Fulham, who should perhaps have been out of sight before Richarlison levelled with his first goal of the season after the hosts dominated the first half against a sluggish Spurs side.

Fraser Forster made an excellent save just before the break to deny Rodrigo Muniz, who also had a couple of decent chances before then.

Tottenham improved after the break and Manor Solomon almost got a dream winner against his former side late on, but his curled effort from the edge of the box was saved.

Substitute James Maddison also hit a free-kick into the wall but penalties were needed to settle the tie, with Fulham successfully converting all of theirs to send Spurs out.

It was overall a very encouraging performance by Fulham, whose manager Marco Silva had to watch the game from the stands after picking up three yellow cards in the first three Premier League games of the season.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66577560

 

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Chelsea had to come from behind to beat League Two AFC Wimbledon 2-1 in the Carabao Cup at Stamford Bridge.

The visitors started brightly and took the lead through a penalty in the 18th minute.

Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez jumped into Harry Pell while trying to punch away a free-kick, and James Tilley made no mistake as he struck the ball powerfully down the centre of Sanchez's goal.

It was also a penalty which brought Chelsea level on the stroke of half-time.

Noni Madueke was brought down by Alex Pearce and the winger dusted himself down to confidently send Alex Bass the wrong way.

Chelsea, who if they complete the signing of Manchester City's Cole Palmer will have taken their spending in this transfer window into the region of £400m, had to bring on some of their big names from the bench.

And it was £105m midfielder Enzo Fernandez who completed the turnaround when he picked up on Alex Bass' poor clearance to fire in from outside the area.

BBC

 

[Amjid Javed]

25 September.

Third round draw​

Ipswich Town v Wolves

Exeter City v Luton Town

Aston Villa v Everton

Manchester United v Crystal Palace

Port Vale v Sutton United

Bradford City v Middlesbrough

Bournemouth v Stoke City

Lincoln City v West Ham

Brentford v Arsenal

Chelsea v Brighton

Salford City v Burnley

Fulham v Norwich City

Blackburn Rovers v Cardiff City

Liverpool v Leicester City

Newcastle United v Manchester City

Mansfield Town v Peterborough United

 

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[Cricket Warrior]

 

[Cricket Warrior]

EFL CUP THIRD ROUND

 

[topspin]

Arsenal and Liverpool are the 2 favourites to win it, closely followed by Newcastle and Man U.

 

[Firebat]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1707146226435502538

 

[hassan918]

Today's EFL Cup Fixtures (1 November 2023)

 

[Cricket Warrior]

BREAKING: A statement from the EFL have confirmed Reading Football Club has been referred to an Independent disciplinary commission (IDC) for continued non-payment of monies owed to HMRC.

As a result, the club is currently under a registration embargo.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

 

[Firebat]

EFL Cup quarter-finals draw:

Everton v Fulham
Chelsea v Newcastle
Port Vale v Middlesbrough
Liverpool v West Ham

 

[hassan918]

HALF TIME SCORES (Quarter-finals)

Everton 0-1 Fulham
Port Vale 0-2 Middlesbrough
Chelsea 0-1 Newcastle United

 

[hassan918]

FULL TIME SCORES (Quarter-finals)

Everton 1-1 Fulham (Fulham win 7-6 on penalties)
Port Vale 0-3 Middlesbrough
Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle United (Chelsea win 4-2 on penalties)

 

[hassan918]

Port Vale 0-3 Middlesbrough - MATCH REPORT

Middlesbrough booked their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the first time since they won the trophy in 2004 as they comfortably saw off Port Vale in freezing cold Burslem.

Michael Carrick's men made light of being drawn away for a fifth straight round as they eased to victory.

Jonny Howson's deflected shot and Morgan Rogers' strike put Boro 2-0 up inside 23 minutes.

Matt Crooks then wrapped up an easy quarter-final triumph on 53 minutes.

Vale's only moment of hope came in only the fourth minute when Ethan Chislett was just off target with an early free-kick.

But Championship promotion contenders Boro did not take long to show their greater cutting edge against their League One hosts.

Captain Howson fired a right-foot shot from the edge of the box that deflected off Jason Lowe to loop over Vale keeper Connor Ripley.

Boro old boy Ripley was then beaten for a second time when Sam Silvera pulled back for Rogers, who found the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Eight minutes into the second half, Crooks got the third after being fed on the edge of the box, holding off Vale defender Lowe and side-footing into the bottom right corner.

Boro now face a two-leg semi-final in January, guaranteed to be against Premier League opposition, as they go into Wednesday's draw, which follows the fourth quarter-final between Liverpool and West Ham United.

Source: BBC

 

[Firebat]

Chelsea snatch victory from the jaws of defeat! They win 4-2 on penalties to reach the semi-finals, joining Middlesbrough and Fulham.

Liverpool-West Ham the last quarter final

 

[hassan918]

FULL TIME: Liverpool 5-1 West Ham

 

[Firebat]

Liverpool thrash West Ham 5-1 to reach EFL Cup semi-finals

Liverpool cruised into the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a dominant performance against West Ham at Anfield.

Once Dominik Szoboszlai had driven a superb 25-yard effort into the bottom corner after 28 minutes, Liverpool's place in the last four was never in doubt.

Curtis Jones added a second 11 minutes after the restart when he deceived Alphonse Areola into thinking he was going to cut a cross back from the edge of the six-yard box, and instead drove a shot through the Hammers' keeper's legs.

Cody Gakpo was given too much space to fire home his eighth goal of the season 19 minutes from time, then Mohamed Salah made it four when he raced clear of the visitors defence and finished, before Jones finished off an excellent run by adding his second.

There could have been more as the excellent Harvey Elliott, Gakpo and substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold all went close and Salah put the rebound wide of an empty net after Areola had touched a Darwin Nunez shot on to a post.

It was the first time Liverpool had scored five at home against the Hammers since 1998 and keeps them on course for a record-extending 10th triumph in the competition they last won as recently as 2022.

They will face Fulham in the semi-finals, with the first leg in the week beginning 8 January and the second leg two weeks later.

For Hammers boss David Moyes, it was a disappointing night. The former Everton boss is still waiting for his first victory in this stadium after 21 visits and Jarrod Bowen's 77th-minute goal with West Ham's first shot on target was scant consolation.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67700011

 

[Firebat]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1737601374731325768

 

[hassan918]

EFL CUP: SEMI-FINALS 1ST LEG - Middlesbrough 1-0 Chelsea​

Chelsea missed a host of chances as Championship side Middlesbrough earned a slender advantage in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at a boisterous Riverside Stadium.

Hayden Hackney scored the only goal, opening up his body to slide home an Isaiah Jones cross in the first half.

Cole Palmer missed three presentable opportunities as Chelsea failed to score for the sixth time this season.

The second leg takes place on Tuesday, 23 January at 19:45 GMT.

Liverpool face Fulham in the other semi-final, with the final taking place at Wembley on Sunday, 25 February.

Source: BBC

 

[Cricket Warrior]

EFL Cup (10-1-2024)
​

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Liverpool staged a second-half turnaround to beat Fulham at Anfield in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie.

The visitors had taken the lead in the first half when Willian showed great control inside the area to slot in.

It was no less than Fulham deserved after an impressive first half, but Liverpool stepped it up after the break and fought back with two goals in three minutes.

First, Curtis Jones equalised when his 68th-minute strike from distance took a big deflection off Tosin Adarabioyo to wrong-foot Bernd Leno in the Fulham goal.

Substitute Cody Gakpo then drove in a Darwin Nunez pull-back to send the home crowd wild.

It was the second time in just over a month that Liverpool had denied Fulham success at Anfield. Marco Silva's side had led 3-2 in the final 10 minutes of their Premier League clash on 3 December but lost 4-3.

The two sides will meet again in the second leg at Craven Cottage on Wednesday, 24 January, with Jurgen Klopp's men now in the driving seat as they look to keep alive their hopes of a record-extending 10th League Cup win.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

 

[hassan918]

Chelsea 6-1 Middlesbrough - MATCH REPORT​

Chelsea reached the Carabao Cup final by blowing away second-tier Middlesbrough to seal a 6-2 aggregate victory.

The Championship side headed to Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 lead from the first leg.

But Chelsea scored four times in the first half through a Jonny Howson own goal, Enzo Fernandez, Axel Disasi and Cole Palmer.

Palmer's second and Noni Madueke completed the rout, before Morgan Rogers scored a consolation to delight the large and noisy away support.

Chelsea have secured a place at Wembley on 25 February, and will face Liverpool or Fulham, who meet at Craven Cottage in their semi-final second leg on Wednesday, with the Reds 2-1 up in the tie.

Mauricio Pochettino's side levelled this tie on aggregate after 15 minutes, when Ben Chilwell - making his first club start for 118 days - cut Boro's defence open with an incisive through ball.

Raheem Sterling then squared towards Armando Broja in the box, and Boro captain Howson, attempting to intervene, inadvertently directed the ball into his own net off his shin.

Chelsea then went ahead in the tie for the first time as Sterling and Disasi combined down the right, before the onrushing Enzo fired the low cross high past Boro keeper Tom Glover.

Boro were the architects of their own downfall for the third and fourth goals of the first half. First, centre-back Matt Clarke gave the ball away with a loose pass. Chelsea countered, with Disasi bursting into the area to stroke Sterling's pass into the far corner.

The fourth was even more egregious as Dan Barlaser was dispossessed on the edge of his own area by Palmer, who slotted past Glover.

Palmer, who missed three golden chances in the first leg, made amends here with the fifth goal as he clinically finished Conor Gallagher's cut-back, before Madueke smashed past Glover via a deflection off Rav van den Berg.

Rogers, who has been linked with Aston Villa this month, pulled one back for Boro with a fine finish into Djordje Petrovic's far corner - but Chelsea had long since ensured a place in the final.

Source: BBC

 

[Cricket Warrior]

EFL Cup Today's Fixture (24-1-2024)​

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Liverpool saw off Fulham in the Carabao Cup semi-finals to set up a final showdown with Chelsea at Wembley on 25 February.

The Reds led 2-1 from the first leg and their draw at Craven Cottage was enough to get the job done.

Luis Diaz gave Liverpool an early lead, chesting down Jarell Quansah's diagonal ball, cutting inside and beating Bernd Leno at his near post too easily, albeit with the help of a deflection.

Marco Silva's hosts had good spells and deserved their equaliser on the night when Issa Diop bunded in Harry Wilson's deflected ball.

Another Fulham goal would have sent the tie to extra time and Wilson's long-range strike was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.

But the Cottagers could not find a second goal despite pushing for one and their wait for a first EFL Cup final goes on.

Both sides are in FA Cup fourth-round action this weekend, with Fulham hosting Newcastle on Saturday and Liverpool at home to Norwich on Sunday.

Chelsea booked their place at Wembley on Tuesday with a 6-1 win over Championship side Middlesbrough, who won the first leg 1-0.

 

[MenInG]

Liverpool head into Sunday's Carabao Cup final aiming to win the first of a potential four trophies this season, while Chelsea target their first domestic trophy for six years.

The game is a rematch of both the Carabao and FA Cup finals of 2022, with Liverpool winning both on penalties.

The Reds lead the Premier League by four points and are into the Europa League last 16 and FA Cup fifth round.

"We'll go for it," said Liverpool's assistant manager Pep Lijnders.

"It's a special game. Special games need special performances so we have to focus on the performance."

With Lijnders and manager Jurgen Klopp set to leave Anfield this summer, Liverpool fans are eager for them to enjoy a triumphant send-off having already won six major honours since Klopp took charge in 2015.

"Our philosophy is to give joy and emotions to the fans," added Lijnders. "I'm really happy that we can give at least a final to start with."

Defender Virgil van Dijk, who will captain the Reds in a Wembley final for the first time on Sunday, said: "We want to make it a special day and get our first trophy of the season.

"The end of the season will probably be very emotional for a lot of people, including the manager, but we are not there yet. We shouldn't look too far ahead, we should look at what is in front of us."

Chelsea's last domestic trophy was the 2018 FA Cup, although they won four international honours after that, the most recent being the Club World Cup in February 2022 - two weeks before they lost to Liverpool in the 2022 Carabao Cup final.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino, who took charge at Stamford Bridge last summer, can win his first prize in England after previous spells in charge of Southampton and Tottenham.

"It means a lot for us, the coaching staff, to get to the final and challenge a team like Liverpool," said the Argentine.

"It's a dream for us, we have the opportunity and we are going to fight. I think the team is ready and we're going to be very competitive."

Lijnders confirmed injury-hit Liverpool will give Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai as long as possible to recover in time for Sunday's game after fitness concerns.

But Curtis Jones has joined Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota on the sidelines, so several youngsters and fringe players will feature in the Wembley showpiece.

"It's always good in life to accept what you have and don't look at what you don't have," said Dutch coach Lijnders. "That's brought us success in the past.

"Johan Cruyff said that 'every disadvantage has its advantage', and we get young players playing who haven't been playing [regularly] - it's a compliment to our squad and our academy.

"For me, success is growing. We focus on developing this team, on bringing young players and making them better - and the older ones. Success is a logical result of that.

"Liverpool is a club made for major trophies. Each year we should fight for them and that's what we'll try to do."


Third time the charm for Pochettino? - the stats

Liverpool's win over Chelsea in 2022 meant they regained the record for most EFL Cup wins - nine
Chelsea are five-time winners, last lifting the trophy by beating Tottenham 2-0 in 2015
Chelsea's current boss Mauricio Pochettino was Tottenham manager that day
Pochettino has only reached one other final while managing in England - the 2019 Champions League final when Spurs lost to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool
Pochettino has won just one of his 13 meetings with Klopp - a 4-1 home win in October 2017 with Tottenham
Chelsea and Liverpool have met in two previous EFL Cup finals (2005 and 2022) and two previous FA Cup finals (2012 and 2022)
Liverpool won both the 2022 finals on penalties after the games finished 0-0 at the end of extra time

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

The Carabao Cup final is coming up soon. Chelsea vs Liverpool.

Who is going to win this? My bets are on Liverpool.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Chelsea isn't missing anyone important other than RJ, who's never fit anyway. We are missing Trent, Alisson, Salah, Nunez, Jota, Thiago, Szoboszlai, Jones.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1761718936293572764

 

[Geordie Ahmed]

Despite the injury situation for Liverpool I think and hope they can win

 

[MenInG]

Cracker of a game in progress

https://twitter.com/x/status/1761769324019093936

 

[MenInG]

HALF-TIME​

Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool
A lively first half but it is goalless at the break.

 

[MenInG]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1761791983364801011

 

[MenInG]

HALF-TIME​

Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool
Half-time in extra time and it is still too close to call a winner.
A captivating final.

 

[MenInG]

FULL-TIME - LIVERPOOL WIN EFL CUP​

Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp's farewell tour begins with the Carabao Cup!

Virgil van Dijk's dramatic late winner secures the Reds' a 10th League Cup title.

Liverpool rode their luck at times but soaked it up and snatched victory with a dramatic late goal.

 

[MenInG]

Virgil van Dijk's header deep into extra time gave an under-strength Liverpool a remarkable Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea at Wembley.

Van Dijk had seen a header contentiously ruled out for offside on the hour but there was no reprieve for Chelsea when he glanced home another from Kostas Tsimikas' corner in the 118th minute.

Liverpool's 10th triumph in the competition was achieved without a host of injured star names, including forward trio Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota, also losing Ryan Gravenberch when he was taken off on a stretcher after Moises Caicedo's first-half challenge.

It means Jurgen Klopp's side have achieved the first part of a potential quadruple in the manager's farewell season, but it was a bitter blow to Chelsea and manager Mauricio Pochettino.

They have now lost six successive Wembley finals, including three against Liverpool, and wasted a host of opportunities here.

BBC

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Epic commentary from Gary Neville. He called out the blue billion pound bottle jobs.

For a second I thought he was talking about India in ICC trophies.