The League Cup quarterfinals are underway this week, as a trio of games get going across England this evening.
Here is what has gone down so far.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
Scorers:Â Jesus 53′, 74′ ; Mateta 4′
It was a rip-roaring start from the visitors as a route-one pass from Dean Henderson played in Jean-Philippe Mateta, and the striker provided a cool finish to open the scoring.
The Gunners dominated possession after the early blow, but struggled to find an opening to carve out a high-quality scoring chance — a pattern for Mikel Arteta’s side as of late.
After the break the hosts finally created a flurry of chances, and Gabriel Jesus was the beneficiary as he pulled off an audacious chip after getting in behind the Palace rearguard.
The Brazilian has been much maligned as of late for his lack of goals, but the former Manchester City man quieted those critics for now with another goal on the night to help complete the turnaround for the home side.
More to follow
Newcastle vs Brentford
Scorers: Tonali 9′, 43′
A heavily rotated Brentford side came as a surprise as they are comfortable in the Premier League table as it stands, but Eddie Howe went strong with his XI.
It paid off in the opening 10 minutes when Sandro Tonali fired home a fizzer from the edge of the box to open the scoring.
Brentford did little to pull themselves back into the tie, and they were punished when Tonali scored his second of the night from a corner, flying into fire home a volley.
Southampton vs Liverpool
Scorers: Núñez 24′, Elliot 33′
The torrential rain on the south coast seemed to force the tempo of the opening 10 minutes to stutter, but perhaps Liverpool’s makeshift starting lineup didn’t help the lack of rhythm either.
It’s fitting the opening goal came with the help of a deflection as a Trent Alexander-Arnold through ball was knocked into the path of Darwin Núñez by a Saints defender, and the Uruguayan showed an unfamiliar composure to take the ball down and finish one-on-one with the keeper.
It went from good to great for the Reds past the half-hour mark when Harvey Elliott doubled the lead from close-range to cap off a superb team move.
More to follow
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