English League Cup Third Round, Tuesday Night Review:
A second half brace from summer signing Lucas Perez has eased Arsenal through to the next round of the League Cup away at Nottingham Forest. Another Granit Xhaka long-range strike opened the scoring for the Gunners with his second goal in consecutive games, making it a day to saviour for new signings. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain finished off Forest to make it 4-0 in stoppage time and a resounding victory. Arsenal made sweeping changes to the side that defeated Hull 4-1 at the weekend, yet were barely troubled as their young side proved utterly dominant.
Liverpool comfortably accounted for Derby County 3-0 at the iPro Stadium with goals from defender Ragnar Klavan, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi. Estonian Klavan poked home his first goal for the Reds from a corner, becoming Liverpool’s 10th scorer in all competitions this season. Coutinho and Roberto Firming combined to make it 2-0 soon after the interval, with Origi finishing things off in the 54th minute with the electric Coutinho this time laying off an assist.
At the King Power Stadium, Chelsea came from 0-2 behind against Premier League Champions Leicester to record a 4-2 victory. Down at the half thanks to two goals from Shinji Okazaki, Antonio Conte’s did manage to pull one back through Gary Cahill’s header just before the break. Cesar Azpilicueta drew Chelsea level within 5 minutes of the restart, and it remained 2-2 until the Foxes’ Martin Wasilewski was sent off on 89 minutes. With extra time needed, Cesc Fabregas proved the hero as he scored twice in three minutes to send his team through to the fourth round.
Amongst other Premier League Clubs, Bournemouth failed to overcome Preston North End, going down 2-3 in extra time thanks to a hat trick from Simon Makienok. Everton’s powerful start to their season could not be transferred to the cup as they were beaten at home 0-2 by recently relegated Norwich City.
A series of Football League teams also faced off, with Ex-Bournemouth midlfielder Matt Ritchie and Youan Gouffran each scoring to send Newcastle through over Wolverhampton Wanderers, A single late goal Leeds United’s Chris Wood saw them through over lowly Blackburn Rovers, with Reading holding off Brighton 2-1.
The League Cup continues on Wednesday night with the remainder of Premier League clubs featuring. Southampton face Cystal Palace and Stoke host Hull City in seemingly the most even fixtures, with high-flying Man City also heading to Swansea. Manchester United, West Ham, Tottenham and Sunderland round out the top division teams seeking to move through to the fourth round.
