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Liverpool and Chelsea made hard work of their Carabao Cup third-round ties against lower-league opposition, but they got there in the end.
Alexander Isak scored his first Liverpool goal in a win against Southampton, while Chelsea had to come from behind at Lincoln.
Elsewhere on Tuesday evening, there were wins for Wrexham, Wycombe, Cardiff, Wolves, Brighton and Fulham.
Liverpool 2-1 Southampton
The positives for Liverpool? Alexander Isak scored, they’re through to the next round, and several fringe players played important minutes. The negatives? They weren’t very good and Hugo Ekitike is now suspended after receiving one of the most braindead red cards you’ll see all season.
Isak should’ve put Liverpool ahead after 45 seconds but shot too close to Alex McCarthy. Southampton were threatening and really should’ve opened the scoring. Adam Armstrong fluffed a one-on-one with Giorgi Mamardashvili, but not as badly as Leo Scienza fluffed the rebound, heading past the post with the goal at his mercy. Obviously, Liverpool ran up the other end and scored less than a minute later. Classic. Some crucial ammunition for the ‘Liverpool are lucky’ brigade, that.
Isak’s opener was his last contribution before being sent out for his cool-down at half-time as he was replaced by Ekitike. Funny night for that guy.
Shea Charles capitalised on a horrendous Wataru Endo clearance to equalise, but Ekitike’s 85th-minute goal got Liverpool over the line. Another late goal for Liverpool, is it? It’s not sustainable, lads!
On a yellow card for throwing the ball away, Ekitike celebrated his monumental, career-defining goal by taking his shirt off and holding it up to the crowd, Lionel Messi style. Jeremie Frimpong ran up and asked something along the lines of, ‘What the f**k are you doing, mate? You’re on a yellow.’ No arguments from Ekitike as he put his shirt back on and walked off the pitch at the same time.
Ekitike is now suspended for this weekend’s trip to Crystal Palace, who are unbeaten in 17 games and fourth in the Premier League calendar table. It was a colossal brain fart from the Frenchman, who was doing so well to keep Isak out of the team. He’s given the Swede a way in here; even if it was inevitable, he could’ve held him off a little longer.
Silly Hugo.
Lincoln 1-2 Chelsea
Chelsea were rattled early on by Lincoln, who are third in League One. They launched long throws into the box and even struck the post through Lewis Montsma inside the opening minutes.
The hosts took a shock but deserved lead in the 42nd minute through Rob Street. It was an absolute calamity at the back for Enzo Maresca’s side, who were clearly complacent and overly relaxed as Enzo Fernandez casually played a lobbed pass across his defensive third that Trevoh Chalobah hesitated to contest. Lincoln took advantage.
Maresca clearly tore his players a new one during the break as Chelsea came out and scored two goals in the first five minutes of the second period. A powerful strike from Tyrique George levelled the scoring and then Facundo Buonanotte scored his first for the club to see them through to the next round.
Wolves 2-0 Everton
An all-Premier League tie went the way of Wolves, whose only two wins this season have come against top-flight opposition in the Carabao Cup. Marshall Munetsi opened the scoring in the 29th minute and Tolu Arokodare made sure of the win late on.
It’s a big blow for Everton, who haven’t won a major trophy since 1995.
Barnsley 0-6 Brighton
Well, Diego Gomez scored a 33-minute hat-trick and added a fourth in the second half. His goals are well worth a watch.
In two Carabao Cup games, Brighton have scored 12 goals and conceded zero. That’s two 6-0 away wins in a row.
Burnley 1-2 Cardiff
Burnley obviously have other priorities, but getting knocked out at home by a League One side is pretty embarrassing.
Fulham 1-0 Cambridge
Marco Silva would’ve hoped for more goals, but in the end, it was Emile Smith Rowe who scored the only one. Into the next round Fulham go.
Wigan 0-2 Wycombe
Goals from Caolan Boyd-Munce and Donnell McNeilly put Wycombe into the fourth round of the Carabobbins.
Wrexham 2-0 Reading
A Nathan Broadhead brace sends Wrexham through, which is fun. There’s a strong chance they’ll be on the telly in the next round. Sky Sports love this lot.