Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak scores in the League Cup match against Manchester City on September 27, 2023
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Manchester City seems to win every competition it enters these days except the English League Cup.
Newcastle beat Man City 1-0 on Wednesday in the third round of the League Cup which also eluded Pep Guardiola’s team during its storied treble last season. Guardiola’s agitation showed by getting a yellow card in the closing minutes for dissent to the match officials.
“No problem, I accept everything,” Guardiola told the BBC of his booking. “Congratulations to Newcastle for the victory.” Newcastle’s reward in the fourth-round draw made 30 minutes after the final whistle is a trip to Manchester in the fourth round to face United. It’s a rematch of last season’s final won by Man United.
Guardiola left star starters Erling Haaland, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden on the bench, yet Man City still dominated the first half without making its possession count with a goal.
Alexander Isak struck in the 53rd for Newcastle which also made sweeping lineup changes to rest key players for another midweek fixture sandwiched between two Champions League challenges.
The goal was created by Joelinton’s dribble into and across the penalty area past four City defenders before squaring a pass that found Isak alone at the far post.
Foden and Jeremy Doku came on in the second half but could not find a leveler as Haaland stayed on the bench among the unused substitutes.
Man City won the League Cup five times in six seasons through 2021 and now has been eliminated in three straight seasons.
Guardiola’s team already won the UEFA Super Cup last month, still has Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup trophies to defend, and there is a first Club World Cup to play for in December in Saudi Arabia.
Liverpool comes back
Liverpool is making a habit of conceding the first goal in games but is still unbeaten this season after beating Leicester 3-1 with three second-half goals.
A third-minute goal by Leicester’s Kasey McAteer made it five times in eight games that Liverpool trailed 1-0, and the second time it fell behind in the opening minutes at Anfield.
It would be Leicester’s only shot on target as Liverpool rallied with 29 goal attempts, 10 of them on target, and goals for Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Diogo Jota.
Szoboszlai’s was the pick in the 70th, a rifled shot from 20 meters that glanced off the underside of the crossbar on its way to the net.
London teams advance
Arsenal and Chelsea came through games against Premier League opposition as all nine matches on Wednesday were won in regulation time and did not go directly to a penalty shootout.
Arsenal won 1-0 at Brentford thanks to Reiss Nelson’s goal in the eighth minutes after poor passing in the home defense.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea fielded three players — Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo — who were signed from Brighton in a 1-0 win over their old club.
Nicolas Jackson scored in the 50th for the Senegal forward’s second goal of the season.
EPL teams win
Everton reversed a 4-0 loss at Aston Villa in the Premier League last month to take a 2-1 win at Villa Park. James Garner scored in the 15th and Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the 50th for Everton, which now has two away wins in five days after a troubled start to the season.
There were routine wins for Fulham and Bournemouth at home to second-tier teams.
Fulham’s foundation for a 2-1 win over Norwich was a 12th-minute goal by Carlos Vinícius. Bournemouth struck twice in a three-minute spell early in the second half to beat Stoke 2-0.
West Ham needed a 70th-minute goal by Tomas Soucek in a 1-0 win at third-tier Lincoln.
The highest scoring game saw Blackburn beat Cardiff 5-2 in a clash of second-tier teams.
4th round draw
In a draw stacked with all-Premier League matchups, Liverpool will go to Bournemouth and Arsenal is at West Ham. Chelsea got a favorable game hosting Blackburn.
Everton coach Sean Dyche will welcome his long-time former club Burnley, and Fulham must go to improving second-tier side Ipswich.
Fourth-tier Mansfield will host third-tier Port Vale to ensure at least one underdog will be in the quarterfinals. Third-tier Exeter hosts second-tier Middlesbrough.
