(Football news) Just three days after Alexis Mac Allister won the World Cup with Argentina, his Brighton team were on the wrong end of a penalty shootout defeat to League One side Charlton. The stakes may not have been high, but nonetheless Brighton performance was a cause of concern. While Mac Allister partied in Buenos Aires, after being given a fortnight off after his heroics in Qatar, the rest of the Brighton team faced a far less appealing trip to south-east London as their domestic season resumed.
Charlton keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer was the hero of the match after he saved Moises Caicedo’s penalty as Sam Lavelle went on to hit the winning spot-kick as Charlton reached the quarter-finals, 4-3 on penalties, after a disappointing goalless draw. Times are tough for Charlton, the former Premier League side are now languishing 18th in League One after appointing their fifth manager in less than two years. They were almost behind in the opening five minutes when Lewis Dunk headed a Solly March corner narrowly wide.
Adam Lallana started instead of Mac Allister but that will surely change once the 23-year-old returns from his break. However, the former England international Lallana almost opened the scoring in spectacular fashion when he collected Tariq Lamptey’s square ball, as he hit the crossbar from 20 yards. Roberto De Zerbi sent on another World Cup star in Japanese winger Kaoru Mitoma, at the start of the second half in a bid to find a crucial goal. However, it remained a stalemate and Brighton second choice keeper Steele looked set to be the hero in the shootout, saving from George Dobson and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi. But Solly March blazed his penalty over and Caicedo’s effort was saved, Lavelle stepped up to send the underdogs through to the Quarterfinals
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest reached the Carabao League Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1994 with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Blackburn as Wales international Brennan Johnson scored twice on his return to club football after the World Cup, while Jesse Lingard and Taiwo Awoniyi were also on target
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