(Football news) Four time consecutive Carabao Cup winners Manchester City were eliminated from the competition by West Ham after losing 5-3 on penalties. Pep Guardiola’s team were last beaten from the Carabao Cup by Manchester United in 2016 in the fourth round, an amazing record to say the least.
Both sides made a total of 17 changes for this fixture from last weekend’s Premier League fixtures and it was evident as there were few clear cut chances between them in the first half. Mark Noble’s shot from the edge of the box was saved by Zack Steffen, who was fortunate that his weak parry met his teammate Fernandinho rather than a West Ham player. For Manchester City, Cole Palmer had an attempt blocked by Alphonse Areola with no other significant chances created by the two sides.
The second half saw much more attacking display with Areola having to make a save from point blank range from a header by John Stones. Guardiola introduced Phil Foden and Jack Grealish in an attempt to win the game in normal time while Moyes introduced Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma in the closing stages. Both sides had glorious opportunities to seal the game, with Tomáš Souček hitting his shot over the bar while substitute Gabriel Jesus crossed to an unmarked Raheem Sterling whose header found the hands of Areola.
With the game forced into penalty shootouts, West Ham scored all five of their spot kicks while Phil Foden failed to hit the target, ensuring that The Hammers reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2018.
Liverpool visited Preston North End at the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a heavily changed line up after last weekend's emphatic win over Manchester United. It was the first meeting between the two sides since January 2009 and Jurgen Klopp gave debuts to Harvey Blair and Tyler Morton. There was much to play for as Preston had never progressed to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup in their history while Liverpool youngsters were eager to impress Klopp and become a regular name in the first team squad.
The Championship side had the better chances with Potts getting an opportunity after 25 minutes but his shot was tipped over by Adrian. An even better opportunity presented itself three minutes later when Joe Rafferty passed the ball to Ali McCann who crossed it into the box. Adrian denied Maguire with a brilliant save but a rebound effort by Ledson was cleared off the line by Neco Williams before Potts failed to capitalize on the opportunity from point blank range.
Wary of the threat Preston possessed, Jurgen Klopp replaced Joel Matip with Nat Phillips and urged his side to show greater urgency. Conor Bradley replaced Blair at right back while Williams was pushed forward, a tactic that paid instant dividends as Williams crossed the ball to Minamino whose volley found the back of the net. Preston made three changes with the likes of Scott Sinclair, Ben Whiteman and Daniel Johnson introduced 10 minutes from time in an attempt to salvage a goal.
However, it was Liverpool that scored a second when a cross by Kostas Tsimikas hit the post and an alert Williams was first to respond with a shot with a deflection taking the ball behind Origi who readjusted his feet to score a brilliant scorpion kick and seal the game. Liverpool could have had a third goal as well when Williams was through moments later but was denied by Rudd.
