Raman Hariharan –
Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs have all reached the semifinals of the Carabao Cup, making up for an exciting semifinal draw
This week saw the Carabao Cup quarterfinals take place across English football, with 7 of the 8-sides from the Premier League. Sunderland was the only team from outside the top division and took on Arsenal, while other entertaining ties decided on the semifinalists.
The Semifinals are set to take in the early parts of next month, with the first legs scheduled for 3rd January. The semifinal’s second leg will be played in the week commencing 10th January, while the Final will take place at Wembley on 27th February.
Reports have emerged of a possible change in format for the semifinal clashes. Traditionally these clashes have been over two legs, although due to the rising cases of Omicron variant, these clashes could be reduced to a single leg knockout round.
As things stand, the usual formats are a go-ahead, although things could change as we approach January. Meanwhile, the tournament has made changes this season by scrapping extra time and the away goal rule for the semifinals.
Quarter Final results and Semifinal draw
Arsenal 5-1 Sunderland
Liverpool 3-3 Leicester City (Liverpool win on penalties 5-4)
Brentford 0-2 Chelsea
Tottenham 2-1 West Ham United
Arsenal smashed five goals past Sunderland at the Emirates, with Eddie Nketiah grabbing a well-deserved hattrick. Nicolas Pepe and teenager Charlie Patino grabbed the other goals. Mikel Arteta’s side were dominant throughout the game and deserved to go through. The manager made at least nine changes from the last Premier League game, thus resting his key stars for the weekend’s action ahead.
Arsenal will now face Liverpool in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup. The Reds played an entertaining game against Leicester City, who led the clash deep into injury time. Striker Takumi Minamino got a late injury-time equalizer and subsequently won on penalty kicks.
Chelsea left it late after fielding a young squad against Brentford. A late own-goal from Pontus Jansson and a penalty from Jorginho sealed the clash in the Blues’ favour. They will now face Tottenham Hotspur in a London Derby over two legs.
Spurs had to fight hard to secure a decent win over West Ham United in north London. Goals from Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura were enough to secure a victory as the Hammers had pulled one back through Jarrod Bowen.
Semifinal Draw
Liverpool vs Arsenal
The first leg will occur at Anfield, with the second leg scheduled to be played at the Emirates. Both sets of managers have been fielding a youthful lineup so far in the tournament. They will make up for an entertaining clash similar to two years ago, when they battled out a 5-5 thriller at Anfield, with Liverpool winning on penalties.
Tottenham vs Chelsea
The London giants will play the first leg in north London while battling it out at Stamford Bridge in the second leg in a bid to reach the Final. It will be an interesting clash considering the bitter rivalry between the two teams, which has produced some scintillating matches in recent years.
