Julen Lopetegui’s new era at Wolves got off a winning start as they beat Gillingham 2-0 at Molineux in the Carabao Cup.
Wolves progress through to the quarter-finals of the competition thanks to Raúl Jiménez’s penalty on his return to the side and Aït-Nouri’s goal off the bench.
Jiménez was a well-welcomed substitute by the Wolves fans who saw their side dominate most of the cup tie at home.
The first chance of the game fell to Hugo Bueno with the Spaniard firing straight at Jake Turner in goal for the Gills from the left side of the box after a nice move with Joao Moutinho.
Joe Hodge’s shot from inside the box was seen away for a corner in the 14th minute before Mandron looked to get in behind for Gillingham’s first chance, yet saw the flag raised being caught offside.
Diego Costa flicked a header on with his back to goal as Daniel Podence clipped the ball over the defence to find him alone in the box, however the striker couldn’t hit the target for the team in gold and black.
Gillingham earned their first corner of the game on the half and hour mark with Nélson Semedo seeing the ball away yet it came to nothing for the away side.
Jose Sa was called into action as Gillingham looked to press, the goalkeeper meeting a cross from the left side to punch it away before the Wolves defence eventually cleared their lines.
Ruben Neves found himself with a perfect shooting opportunity with a freekick just outside the edge of the box. The midfielder shot just wide to the left of the goal with Jake Turner at full stretch in goal for Gills.
Wolves had their best chances of the game with both Hodge and Podence denied from close range inside the Gillingham box with a double block to keep it goalless at the 38th minute.
Daniel Podence looked for the opener with his long-range one-bounce effort saved by Turner diving to his right to deny the Wolves number 10 in the 41st minute.
Gonçalo Guedes then found Joe Hodge at the back post from the left side of the pitch with a perfect cross to the Wolves man unmarked on the edge of the six yard box.
However, the Irishman couldn’t convert heading wide to the right, squandering the opportunity to give his side a half time lead.
Ruben Neves struck the post with the final kick of the half as Daniel Podence dummied a corner played out to the edge of the box for the Portuguese midfielder to try and curl one towards the top right corner, only to be denied by the woodwork.
Adama Traoré replaced Joe Hodge for the second half with the home side switching to a four at the back.
Wolves pressed for an early second-half opener but were unable to break through the Gillingham defence as Hwang Hee Chan and Matheus Nunes were brought on after the hour mark.
Nélson Semedo’s left footed effort from the right side of the edge of the box sailed well wide to the left before Gillingham replaced their striker Mandron with Scott Kashket.
Diego Costa headed wide before Raúl Jiménez received a very welcome return to Molineux replacing Daniel Podence with his song belted out by the crowd.
The corner from the right side led to a Wolves penalty with Hwang fouled in the box leading to referee Michael Salisbury pointing to the spot.
Jiménez converted well for Wolves, tucking it away in the bottom right corner to give Wolves the lead in Julen Lopetegui’s first game in charge at Molineux.
Diego Costa was replaced by Rayan Ait-Nouri in the 80th minute before a Reeves free kick for Gillingham was held comfortably by Sa in goal.
Gills substitute Scott Kashket was ambitious with an overhead kick unable to hit the target as Wolves went up the other end of the pitch and doubled their lead.
Ait-Nouri found the back of the net firing into the right bottom corner from close-range after great work from Wolves on the left with Hwang pulling it back to the substitute.
Hwang had a chance of his own to make three but was unable to convert with Wolves seeing out the game comfortable 2-0 winners in Julen Lopetegui’s first official game in charge.
It’s a perfect start for the Spaniard at Molineux and he will loom for the same again when the Midlands side return to action on Boxing Day against Everton at Goodison Park.
Attendance: 26,953
Starting Lineups:
Wolves: Sá, Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno, Hodge, Neves (C), Moutinho, Guedes, Costa, Podence
SUBS Sarkic, Aït-Nouri, Jiménez, Hwang, Toti, Ronan, Nunes, Adama, Lembikisa
Subs used: Adama, Hwang, Nunes, Jiménez, Aït-Nouri
Gillingham: Turner, Alexander, Wright, Ehmer, Baggott, Tutonda, Jefferies, Williams, O’Keefe (C), Mandron, Adelakun
SUBS Holtam, Macdonald, Lee, Reeves, Kashket
Subs used: Kashket, MacDonald, Reeves, Lee
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]]>Julen Lopetegui will begin his new era at Wolves on Tuesday night as they host Gillingham of League Two in the Carabao Cup at Molineux.
The Spaniard will be hoping for his new Wolves side to progress into the quarter finals of the League Cup, as the former Sevilla manager takes charge of his first official game at the club.
Wolves will make a welcome return to competitive action as the World Cup saw the Premier League sides take a break with the season halted in mid-November.
The tie with Gillingham comes after the Spaniard has enjoyed over a month with the Premier League side, having been confirmed as the Wolves manager in early November.
The 56-year-old was unveiled to the Wolves fans in their home league loss to leaders Arsenal before taking charge during the World Cup tournament held in Qatar.
Wolves have played recent friendlies against Birmingham City, Empoli and Cádiz beating the La Liga side 4-3 and drawing the two former games.
Lopetegui is positive ahead of the cup fixture with Gillingham, satisfied that his side are putting in the effort to turn their season around.
He said: “I think they are working very hard.
“In the matches against Birmingham and in Spain against Empoli and Cadiz, step by step I think they are understanding more about us, and in the same way us about them.
“We have to improve more in the next matches and tomorrow is the first important test because it’s the first official match.
“We are playing an exciting Carabao Cup tie, we want to win.
“We know it’s going to be a hard task because it’s the cup and we are talking about only one match. This is football and we know what can happen, so we have to be ready, but at the same time, we want to win this match a lot.”
Gillingham progressed through to this stage of the competition beating Brentford 6-5 on penalties, as the game finished one-a-piece at the Brentford Community Stadium.
The Gills saw off AFC Wimbledon winning 2-0 in the first round before beating Exeter City also 6-5 on penalties to earn the cup match with the Bees.
After the dramatic win in West London, they were rewarded with another big away tie at Wolves and Lopetegui is aware of the threat that his opponents bring.
“I know that they have eliminated Brentford and I feel they are going to be a very dangerous team.
“In the cup all things can happen because it’s only one match.
“We have to be ready, we are alert and we know the way they play usually and we have to be ready for tomorrow.
“It’s a team that is very clear how they want to play, and we have to be ready to double up in our best way.”
Despite the emphatic cup run, the Gills sit bottom of League Two with just two wins from 20 league games.
Likewise to their opponents Wolves also sit bottom in their retrospective league, with two wins from the campaign so far.
The struggling Wolves will look to ignite a spark in their season and get off to a win to resume after the break.
With just ten points so far this season in the Premier League and just one from their last five games thanks to a draw against Brentford, Lopetegui will hope to turn things around and make Molineux a fortress for his new side.
The Midlands team secured their place in the round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Leeds. Boubacar Traore found the net for the winning goal which was his first in gold and black.
However, Wolves will be without the Malian as Lopetegui confirmed the injuries within the squad.
“We have a problem with Jonny and ‘Bouba’ [Traore].
“The rest of the players are ready.”
The tie may see striker Raul Jimenez feature with Hwang Hee-Chan also looking to help Wolves return to winning ways after finding the net in Qatar against Portugal, sending South Korea into the last-16.
Lopetegui said on Jimenez: “He’s working very hard, like the rest of the squad.”
Adding: “He’s trying to improve his feet and his body to feel better to help more.
“Tomorrow is going to a chance for him and the rest of the squad and he’s trying to improve us, like the rest of the players.
Gillingham on the other hand, battling to remain in the EFL, come into the game fresh from two postponements.
Their fixtures against Bradford City and Stockport County were called off due to a frozen pitch as the League Two side will look to cause another huge upset against Wolves and inflict an early blow on Lopetegui’s new era at Wolves.
The Kent-based side have proven their capability to overcome a Premier League side and will hope to do it once again to set up a big last-eight tie for themselves.
The Gills are enjoying big cup ties so far this season with the League Two side having been drawn against Leicester in the third-round of the FA Cup, bound to supply the club with extra required funds.
Neil Harris’ side’s last game saw them beat Dagenham and Redbridge 3-2 in an FA Cup replay at the Priestfield Stadium after being battered 3-0 by Salford at home five days before.
The Carabao Cup Round-of-16 tie kicks off at 7:45 at Molineux with Lopetegui hoping to get off to a winning start with his Wolves.
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As Joseph Willock poked home a third past Gavin Bazunu to seal three points for the Magpies, there was an air of inevitability about the fate of the 55-year-old Austrian.
Over his near four year tenure, the former RB Leipzig boss endured a plethora of highs and lows, including surviving two record 9-0 defeats to Leicester City and Manchester United respectively.
However, the club showed faith to Hassenhuttl due to him keeping the team in the league consistently on a limited budget. This, paired with a belief in his footballing philosophy and ideology, resulted in the full backing of the club through some difficult periods.
At one stage after the first 9-0 defeat in 2019, Hassenhuttl himself even proclaimed that he ‘expected to be sacked’ after such a result.
Despite this, after three wins in their last 20 Premier League games, and with the club currently in the relegation zone, the board decided to pull the plug.
Now, less than a year after the club changed ownership to the Sport Republic group, Luton Town manager Nathan Jones is being tipped to take the permanent role, after Luton Town granted him permission to speak to the south coast club.
Meanwhile, Sheffield Wednesday have endured difficult times of their own as they were relegated to the third tier of English football in 2021, and failed to gain promotion at the first attempt after losing a play-off semi-final clash with eventual winners Sunderland.
17 games into their League One campaign, Darren Moore’s side sit 3rd, just three points behind Ipswich Town in 2nd.
The Yorkshire side are now unbeaten for a month in all competitions, (five wins, two draws) with their last defeat coming to table-topping Plymouth Argyle at Home Park.
Victories at Hillsborough over Sunderland and Rochdale have seen Wednesday into the Third Round of this season’s Carabao Cup, with the club also progressing in the FA Cup on Friday night with a 2-0 win over league rivals Morecambe.
On the other hand, Southampton have only featured in one cup game this season, that being their comfortable Carabao Cup Second Round win at Cambridge United back in August.
In said cup victory, Hassenhuttl named a strong team made up of first team and squad players, with the inclusion of one young debutant by the name of Lewis Payne.
Aged just 18, Payne grabbed his opportunity by the scruff of the neck by getting the assist for Southampton’s first goal of the game, before fellow youngster Dominic Ballard came off the bench to score on his debut.
Neither featured for the U21’s at the weekend, which could suggest inclusion for the Carabao Cup clash.
Sheffield Wednesday also made concerted changes in the previous rounds, though they have yet to come up against an outfit the level of Southampton.
The Saints will be without long-term absentees Valentino Livramento and Kyle Walker-Peters, whilst Sheffield Wednesday have a player of their own out long term in Akin Famewo.
In a period of transition for Southampton, this game will provide an opportunity to make an impression on any incoming manager for increased future involvement in the effort to avoid relegation to the Championship.
As for Sheffield Wednesday, this game poses a free hit against a fragile Premier League side, with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
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]]>Stevenage maintain their 100% winning record for the 2022/23 season with an upset away at Championship side Reading to progress into the Carabao Cup 2nd Round thanks to a dramatic late Danny Rose goal.
Two divisions separate Reading and Stevenage in the football pyramid, but cup football can often bridge that gap and provide a variety of upsets.
With both sides buoyed by wins at the weekend, there was little to lose and everything to gain in this Carabao Cup fixture, with the opportunity to meet Premier League opposition in the second round.
There were also wholesale changes from both managers, but it was Stevenage who fielded an XI filled with more experience, whilst Paul Ince incorporated some of the Royals youngsters for this game.
This proved a telling factor as Stevenage unsettled their inexperienced hosts early on and, with just ten minutes gone, took the lead to put the upset on the cards.
Jake Reeves resisted the urge to shoot despite the shouts from the away end to find new signing Kane Smith. The 26-year-old joined from Boredom Wood in the summer, and linked up with his fellow full-back and new signing in Saxon Earley.
Incidentally, despite the difference seemingly being somewhat experienced based, it was a 19-year-old Norwich City academy prospect on loan at ‘Boro who slotted home at the back post, with Bouzanis scrambling across goal in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to parry the ball wide.
After going ahead, the visitors looked confident and comfortable in possession, in stark contrast to their hosts.
As the half wore on, the hosts crept into the Stevenage half without seriously troubling the backline of Steve Evans’ side.
Frustration built as the game petered towards half-time, with Reading unable to register a chance of note.
The visitors had seemingly been able to continue to stagnate the Royals, but as the game passed the hour mark the hosts found a breakthrough, with one of the youngsters getting his name on the scoresheet. Kelvin Ehibatiomhan had been living off of scraps up top for Paul Ince’s side, but he was played clean through with a pass that carved open the Stevenage defence, and the 19-year-old did not waste his opportunity as he slotted past Aaron Chapman.
Following the equaliser, the tide seemingly turned and the hosts looked far more comfortable in possession against their League Two opponents.
However, with the game seemingly destined for penalties, Stevenage grabbed a dramatic, yet somewhat bizarre late winner.
Dan Sweeney swept a seemingly scuffed ball in to the Reading area, but by some hook or crook the cross evaded all Reading defenders and ran all the way through to Danny Rose at the back post.
The 28-year-old could not believe his luck as he arrived unmarked to sweep home his first goal for the club, sending ‘Boro into the second round, despite a late penalty shout for the Royals.
Paul Ince’s side ultimately paid the price for fielding an XI filled with inexperienced players accustomed to academy football. Whilst Stevenage made just one less change to their starting XI, they called upon players who largely have a significant amount of first team experience.
Reading return to Championship action this Saturday as they travel to Yorkshire to play a potential relegation rival in Rotherham United, whereas Stevenage will find out their second round opponents after Sheffield Wednesday v Sunderland before heading to the Bescot Stadium to play Walsall in League Two.
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Malang Sarr was the standout player as Chelsea cruised into the final of the Carabao Cup with a 3-0 aggregate score against Tottenham Hotspur.
Sarr started as a centre-back in a back four with Chelsea picking up a 2-0 win in the first-leg of the tie. However, Thomas Tuchel this time opted to bench Marcos Alonso, who is more accustomed to the role of left-back and instead chose to play Sarr in that position as the Blues beat Spurs 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The 22-year-old is usually deployed as a left-sided centre-back in a back three, however, with Ben Chilwell having been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury and Tuchel seemingly unconvinced by Alonso, the Chelsea manager has been forced to search for a solution to the problem.
The Blues have been linked with Lucas Digne and have also explored the option of recalling Emerson Palmieri from Olympique Lyon in order to fill the void this January, but they may have stumbled across a less expensive solution within their squad already.
Sarr produced an extremely assured performance down the left flank, snuffing out the challenges posed by Giovani Lo Celso and Emerson Royal as Tottenham looked to chase down the two-goal deficit.
Despite being played out of position, the Frenchman made the role his own, and instead of being pinned back by Spurs’ attacking flair, it was in fact the 22-year-old who forced the hosts back with his ventures forward.
It was only the second time in Tuchel’s tenure at Chelsea that the German has opted to play with a back four, and with Sarr showing he can deliver against high-quality opposition, it could mean that his manager veers to a change of formation more often.
The Chelsea manager was pleased with the performance of Sarr and explained the decision behind starting the Frenchman as a left-back.
“Malang Sarr has been hugely involved in the last few games, he is fit and we thought he has the strength and ability to defend man-on-man.
“We wanted to use his left foot when we were in a back four to build up play but we tried to defend as a five without the ball.”
Sarr joined Chelsea in 2020 but was immediately loaned out to Porto for the remainder of the season where he made 19 appearances for the Portuguese giants.
He then rejoined the Blues’ squad for pre-season and was kept as a rotational squad player after Chelsea sold Kurt Zouma to West Ham.
He has been used sparingly by Tuchel this season having made only eight appearances all season with only one of those appearances coming in the Premier League.
Yet when given the opportunity, Sarr has shown he is more than capable of making an impact with a superb performance against Brentford and solid showings in the domestic cup competitions.
With Chilwell, Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah all out and the defensive injuries mounting up for Chelsea, the French defender will look to hold down a more regular spot in the team and make the position his own by continuing in his rich vein of form.
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]]>Following the announcement of last week’s postponement, Arsenal will finally make the trip to Anfield on Thursday to face Liverpool in the first-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
It seems that in recent times, football and controversy go perfectly hand in hand, from the dubious decisions made by VAR to the havoc caused by the pandemic.
The events of the last seven days were no different and have not only caused uproar amongst supporters, but some would argue that it made a mockery of the system in which determines when a match should be re-arranged.
Just two days prior to the original date of the fixture, Liverpool submitted an application for the postponement of the first-leg due to a suspected COVID-19 outbreak amongst the coaching staff and players.
However, this week’s hosts were reportedly unwilling to inform the English Football League which players had been affected by a positive case or even how many they had, and as a result, the governing body made the decision to push the fixture back a week.
The Reds’ training facilities at the AXA Training Centre were subsequently closed at the time of the appeal, and once the news broke that they had been successful in their attempts, it was re-opened just two days later.
Surprisingly, their Third Round FA Cup clash with Shrewsbury Town was still able to take place, despite it being played under 72 hours after when they were due to take on Arsenal.
After Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Shrewsbury on Sunday, Jurgen Klopp revealed a shock admission in his post-match press conference.
‘We had last week a proper outbreak and it showed up that we had a lot of false positives but the rules are like they are, so all these players who are false positives couldn’t play,” said the German coach.
“The only real positive came from Trent Alexander-Arnold and all the rest were false positives.”
Despite the unusual circumstances, the EFL stand by the fact that the Merseyside club submitted enough evidence to justify their decision and the rumours of them opening an investigation into the matter have been put to bed.
As a result of the changes, the fixtures have been flipped with the Gunners now playing the first-leg away and the second-leg at home.
Both sides will be hoping to book their place in the final with their opponents looking likely to be Chelsea following the Blues’ 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge over London rivals Tottenham last Wednesday.
However, Arsenal will need to improve upon their performance after the Gunners’ poor display against Nottingham Forest saw them crash out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been struggling with injuries and COVID-19 cases themselves with Granit Xhaka and the recently departed Florian Balogun both missing the last game due to the virus. Key players like Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith Rowe were also unavailable as a result of a tight groin and tight right calf respectively.
Not only this, but a combination of Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny leaving for the African Cup of Nations and allowing Ainsley Maitland-Niles to join AS Roma on loan, means Arteta finds himself in somewhat of a crisis in central midfield.
Last time out, the Spaniard opted to play 18-year-old academy prospect, Charlie Patino, alongside Albert Sambi Lokonga, however unsurprisingly the pair struggled due to their inexperience.
It is extremely unlikely that a replacement is brought in between now and the first-leg, but perhaps the Spanish manager will be hopeful that Xhaka is back available for the important top-four clash with rivals Tottenham at the weekend.
Jurgen Klopp will also be without a number of key names as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita are all away at AFCON while Thiago Alcantara will miss out with a hip injury and Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to be unavailable due to testing positive for COVID-19.
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A campaign which began so promisingly for Bolton Wanderers now looks concerningly bleak after defeat at Hartlepool United in the Papa John’s Trophy.
Fielding a strong starting eleven and going up against a side from a division below who had made eight changes to their own team respectively, Bolton went into the tie as strong favourites. In spite of that, a late blunder from goalkeeper Joel Dixon gifted Pools striker Matty Daly the only goal of the evening and saw the Trotters crash out of the competition at the round of 16 stage.
Also crashing out of the FA Cup after a humiliating 5-3 loss against National League outfit Stockport County in November and losing their place in the Carabao Cup back in August with a penalty shootout defeat to local rivals Wigan Athletic, the Whites now have just the remainder of their League One season to focus on.
Promoted from League Two on the final day of last season at the first time of asking, Ian Evatt’s side were within one point of the play-offs in the third tier after a thumping 4-1 win at Charlton Athletic and a 2-1 home victory against Shrewsbury Town in early October.
Since then, there has been little to cheer about for team’s supporters though with failure in cup competitions added to by a worrying slip down the League One standings.
At the midway point of the campaign having played 23 league matches, the Trotters now sit 17th in the division and some of the teams behind Evatt’s side have multiple games-in-hand. Winless in both October and December, the question remains – ‘what’s next?’ for the Wanderers.
January Signings
To gain promotion in the last campaign, Bolton made a whole host of new additions in the January transfer window and recovered from sitting 19th in mid-February to finish third.
Some of those signings are still present in the side today, and though a turnaround of a similar nature isn’t at all likely given the quality on show from different clubs in the third tier this season, it is evident that the Whites squad requires further development.
Striker Dion Charles has already arrived from Accrington Stanley while young defender Marlon Fossey has also joined on loan from Fulham. Both of those players started at Hartlepool and showed glimpses of what they will be able to offer.
Manager Ian Evatt has already stated publicly that he is in the market for three more insertions by the time the transfer window slams shut, but the Papa John’s Trophy exit may well have brought more question marks over various positions which need strengthening. This includes a goalkeeper if not to take Dixon’s place, then to challenge the 28-year-old.
Survival
It’s also fair to say that Bolton’s main aim now should be to get enough points on the board to ensure they aren’t sucked into a relegation dogfight.
The last time they picked up three points against any team who currently sit above them in the league table was in fact that Shrewsbury game on October 2, which will be a worrying statistic for Evatt and his colleagues.
It’s not difficult to see where one of their main issues lie either and that’s putting the ball in the back of the net. Bolton netted 18 goals across their first ten league games of the season. In the 13 matches that have followed to date, they’ve managed just 12.
Overall, in League One action, they’ve failed to net on 11 occasions too, so either existing players must step up or reinforcements are needed.
A return to Ireland for forward Eoin Doyle has been heavily rumoured just five days into January, and new frontman Charles is also under investigation by the Football Association for historical tweets of both a homophobic & racial nature.
If Doyle does exit, and Charles receives a ban, then it must be said that options for Evatt will be thin on the ground in the final third.
Building blocks
For all the negativity surrounding Bolton now though, positives can be taken from this season providing that the Whites do start to pick up points and eventually survive the drop.
After nearly being liquidated in the summer of 2019, the club earned promotion to the third tier and would be planning for a second consecutive season there. Chairwoman Sharon Brittan has openly stated that she wants to help guide the club back to at least the Championship, and that’s no small order.
Slow progression may help the club in the long run to get back to where it wants to be, and a steady first campaign back in League One may not be the worst thing.
Though proving frustrating for Wanderers fans who travel the country to watch their side, including the 369 who made the long journey to Hartlepool, it could all be worth it in the end.
‘Rome wasn’t built in a day,’ after all.
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Thomas Tuchel’s second half substitutions helped Chelsea beat Brentford 2-0 and progress into the last four of the Carabao Cup.
The two goals that sealed the deal for the Blues came in the last 10 minutes of the match. Firstly, Pontus Jansson’s own goal gave Chelsea the lead before a Jorginho penalty secured a spot in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
The victory once again proved Tuchel’s managerial prowess and game management as the German got the job done while making eight changes which included debuts for Jude Soonsup-Bell, Harvey Vale and Xavier Simons.
Chelsea’s academy graduates impressed on their first senior starts for the club and helped the visitors dominate proceedings in the first half against a near-full strength Brentford side.
Thomas Tuchel praises his squad’s attitude despite heavy rotation
The Blues’ injury and COVID-19 crisis continued ahead of the quarter-final tie and Tuchel was forced to name a much-changed squad, which included eight academy graduates.
However, the German was full of praise for how his fringe players stepped up when they were needed.
“We did everything we could to be in the semi-finals and we deserve to be there because we played brilliantly and came away a brilliant result.
“The young boys did well, they didn’t train for a week because our academy was closed because of COVID.
“They had two sessions with us, they listened very carefully to their jobs and they did good.
“I have to praise the other seven players too because they made it really easy for them and made sure they were supported, so everyone was involved in a good performance.”
The young trio showed their confidence on the ball and had an effort each at goal in the first-half with wing-back Simons going closest after a powerful strike from the edge of the box.
Despite the seamless transition from the under-23s to the first team, Tuchel was ruthless and used his five substitutes to perfection in pursuit of victory.
Chelsea had struck a patch of bad form, winning just one of their last five matches in all competitions and several cases of COVID-19 within the squad has put added strain on the regular starters.
However, the German managed their minutes to perfection and got the desired outcome as Jorginho, Reece James, Christian Pulisic, N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount all came on in the second half with the Blues still in the ascendency.
The added quality was enough to push Chelsea into their fifth Carabao Cup semi-final in the last 10 years and all the substitutes combined for the two goals with 10 minutes to go.
In the 80th minute, Kante showed great trickery to find the space to play in James down the right flank and the full-back’s low cross was turned in by the helpless Jansson at the near post to give the Blues a deserved lead.
Five minutes later, Mount’s deflected pass found Pulisic who was brought down by Brenford goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez inside the box. Jorginho coolly converted from the penalty spot to extend the lead and reward Chelsea’s dominance throughout the match.
The Blues will host bitter rivals Tottenham in the first leg of the semi-finals, however, there have been numerous reports that the competition’s two-legged semi-finals may be scrapped in order to fit in the fixtures disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak in the Premier League. If that does happen, the Blues will have home advantage and will be looking to make it through to the final in front of their home crowd.
The winners of that semi-final will face either Arsenal or Liverpool at Wembley Stadium after both clubs overcame Sunderland and Leicester in their respective quarter-final ties.
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Leeds United recently reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup for the first time under Marcelo Bielsa, after beating Fulham 6-5 on penalties.
Fulham’s Santiago Muniz stepped up to the penalty spot and saw his decisive effort saved by Illan Meslier, who turned to face the Fulham faithful in celebration of his team’s successes. Of course, he was met by jeers, but he didn’t seem to care. He had just won a game, and that isn’t something Leeds have done much so far this season.
Whilst their Carabao Cup journey, though still early on, is progressing, the Yorkshire club have had a tough start in the Premier League this season. The Whites went winless in their first five games for the first time in the top flight since the 1946/47 season.
That being said, it doesn’t mean Leeds fans should be in a deep panic over the season their side will have. They will be because they have been conditioned into a state of consistent over-reaction through years of misfortune combined with high expectations, but there are definitely aspects to be considered.
For one, Leeds have had a fairly tough start to the season, having already faced Manchester United, Everton and Liverpool to name a few. Not only that, but they have struggled with injury woes so far this season, with even the likes of Patrick Bamford, who has seemed near impervious to injury over the last year or two, set to be on the sidelines for Leeds’ game against West Ham this Saturday.
It’s certainly a tough predicament that Leeds find themselves in. Though, whilst their Carabao Cup successes may be the only wins fans have been able to cheer for so far this campaign, it has highlighted something else, something far more important.
For so long, Leeds fans have raved about their under-23 side. They tore up the league last season, earning promotion to the Premier League 2 Division 1. Mark Jackson’s men play the same, distinctive style of football that Marcelo Bielsa has instilled into the senior side.
Bielsa has often been inclined to place some of that young regiment onto his bench in Premier League games. He has almost never seemed tempted to play any of them, which may be confusing to some. Maybe he wants them to gain experience, maybe he just needs to fill the bench but it’s not like Bielsa operates with a large squad.
Some younger players, such as Jamie Shackleton, have been used sparingly by Leeds. Others, like Charlie Cresswell, have only been seen once, maybe twice. Most though, despite their talent, had never been seen in a senior Leeds side.
The current injuries to Leeds’ already thin roster caused Bielsa to finally pull the trigger and expose some of his youngsters to senior football. Was this before he would have wanted to ideally? Possibly but football is football and it is unpredictable to an infuriating extent.
In the game against Fulham, Bielsa named Charlie Cresswell, Jamie Shackleton and Crysencio Summerville in the starting lineup. Of course, there were still more young players, but the likes of Dan James and Illan Meslier have already tasted their fair share of upper echelon football.
The match kicked off, and it swiftly became apparent just how comfortable these youngsters were. Playing under Jackson meant they didn’t need to learn a new system, nor was their fitness impeding them. It was incredible to see Leeds’ cavalry show they were more than capable of being called upon, despite their tender ages.
As the game progressed, Bielsa too introduced Joe Gelhardt and Stuart McKinstry into the fold. Now, Leeds fans are highly supportive of their under-23’s as a whole, but there is perhaps no higher amount of collective support for anyone they had never seen play a senior game than Joe Gelhardt.
The forward arrived from Wigan Athletic ahead of last season, a departure earmarked by the Latics’ financial misfortunes. Since then, he has torn the Premier League 2 Division 1 apart with his movement, relentless pressuring and lethal finishing ability.
Leeds fans have wanted to see him in the first team for months now, especially when you look at how lightly they are equipped at the striker position. In a moment of delight for both the player and the supporters, Gelhardt was able to make his senior debut against Fulham, as was the aforementioned McKinstry, a midfielder with composure and ability of a man far beyond his years.
The game finished in a stalemate and progressed into penalties. After Leeds’ senior players had stepped up for their attempts, with some scored and some missing, all attention turned to the youngsters and in particular Gelhardt and McKinstry. It’s probably fair to say that, given their age, it placed a far greater emotional investment into what was otherwise just a third-round shootout for Leeds.
Did the players let the moment impact them? Of course not. Both scored their attempts, as cool as you’d like.
Though he didn’t take a penalty, let’s not just brush over Charlie Cresswell who seized his opportunity with both hands. Prior to this game, he had played against Hull City in the very same competition last season, a game in which he played quite poorly. In hindsight, it was a game he wasn’t ready for.
Against Fulham though, you’d have been forgiven for thinking Cresswell has been playing senior football for the last decade. Commanding in the air, comfortable with his passing, he played as though he was the ideal Bielsa centre-back. What made it better was that his confidence grew noticeably as the game went on.
He began weaving in and out of Fulham midfielders, gliding over the halfway line. Mere seconds later, and he’d be back in his defensive line, barking orders to those around him. As @LUFCDATA noted on Twitter, Cresswell completed 87 of the 104 passes he attempted, won 12 duels and 11 headers, whilst too completing four successful long passes. It was a phenomenal thing to watch.
Bielsa was clearly just as impressed with Cresswell as supporters were, and his recent comments have given the inclination that the young defender may well be in line for his first Premier League start. West Ham are a tough team to beat, there’s no denying that, but with Leeds’ current centre-back crisis, do they really have a choice?
When you whittle it down, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente are injured and Pascal Struijk is suspended following the Liverpool game. Who else could Bielsa really put there? Kalvin Phillips, yes, but it seems nonsensical to move the Englishmen from defensive midfield when in their ranks sits Cresswell, a defender who appears more ready than ever for a chance at Premier League football.
With the recent debut of Summerville against Newcastle and the blooding of the young guns against Fulham, something has been made very clear to Leeds United. Whilst they may well struggle with injuries yet again this season, they now have a full brigade of young and capable academy prospects, each of whom will be biting for a chance to shine on one of the biggest stages in domestic football.
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Morgan Whittaker scored a hat-trick in Swansea City’s 4-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle in the Carabao Cup this week, ending a long wait for any Swansea player to claim the match ball.
The Swans began well, with Jake Bidwell whipping in a dangerous delivery for Kyle Joseph to meet. His effort was goalwards, but it was blocked well.
Russell Martin lined up with two debutants, including the opening goal scorer Daniel Williams.
The ball was laid off well to the 20-year-old, who drilled low to beat Callum Burton in a poor showing from the Pilgrims’ shot-stopper.
Whittaker threatened early on with tame efforts, one before Williams’ strike heading over the bar, the other just flicking into Burton’s hands after an excellent diagonal ball from the scorer.
Plymouth began to make inroads on Swansea’s goal from Ryan Broom’s dangerous crosses, which were dealt with regularly by Swans defender Brandon Cooper.
From the other side though, a ball was curled into the back post that Rhys Shirley. The substitute simply couldn’t miss, tapping it past Ben Hamer for his first senior goal.
16 minutes later, the hosts made the breakthrough once more. Williams, who must have impressed Russell Martin thoroughly, slid in Whittaker. The20-year-old cut inside on his left foot, firing a precise shot into the back of the net from 25 yards.
What followed, was simply an outstanding piece of individual play from Jamal Lowe.
The former Wigan Athletic man has had quite a poor start to this campaign, but his bursting run down the Plymouth left caused trouble beyond reckoning.
He was swarmed by five players in dark green as he looked to shoot but unselfishly squared to Whittaker who finished consummately past Burton.
Ethan Laird came on after his outstanding performance against Bristol City in a more advanced role due to Plymouth’s tiredness and was deadly in setting up Whittaker’s third.
His dribbling down the right-hand side freed space for the former Derby County man, who toe-poked home after beating a tired Argyle defender in the box.
The significance of this goal is huge for Swansea fans, as they haven’t seen a player score a hat-trick in over 10 years.
It may be a significantly less important fixture now, but Whittaker is the first since Scott Sinclair in the 2011 play-off final to bag a trio in a single match.
Even the legends of recent Swans past, such as Andre Ayew, Michu, Wilfried Bony, Bafetimbi Gomis and Fernando Llorente never managed such a feat.
Manager Russell Martin was beaming with pride after the result.
“I am really pleased with the result and so much that we saw. We had a little spell for 15 minutes in the second half where we got a bit slow and sloppy, we did not take enough care and it led to their goal.
“So I was frustrated with that, and I still am, but the way the guys then wrestled back control was excellent.
“That’s the beauty of having the ball and dominating the ball. The opposition get very tired towards the end, and it opened up.”
Swansea will take on former manager Graham Potter, and his new side Brighton & Hove Albion, in the third round of the Carabao Cup in the week commencing 20th September.
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