League Cup: Man City Through on PKs; Bristol City Upsets Crystal Palace
Manchester United returned to winning ways in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, where fierce rivals Manchester City were biting their nails against Championship side Wolves and could only rely on a penalty shootout to get through.
Meanwhile in London, it took Arsenal until extra time before relying on youngster Edward Nketiah to finally overcome second tier outfit Norwich; and Crystal Palace's trip to Bristol City ended in complete misery for Roy Hodgson and his men.
Leaders of their respective leagues in, Manchester City and Wolves, two free-scoring sides so far this season - couldn't find the back of the net after 120 minutes of football; resulting in the dreaded penalty shootout.
City eventually ran out victorious from the spot kicks - quality showing in their 4-1 penalty victory. Claudio Bravo came out the hero after three brilliant saves throughout the game, followed by two impressive stops in the shootout. Sergio Aguero chipped in with a cheeky panenka to give his side their ticket to the quarter finals.
Manchester United eased their way into the quarter final against Swansea with a 2-0 victory at the Liberty Stadium. The scoring opened when a lovely deft flick from Marcus Rashford cut the Swans defence in half for Jesse Lingard to run onto, turning the ball round Kristoffer Nordfelt with ease from the edge of the box. The Englishman then completed his brace after extra time. An impressive header on 60 minutes capped an easy night for Jose Mourinho.
Leicester progressed beyond the fourth round with a tidy 3-1 win over Leeds, though they were left sweating initially. It was the Championship side who took the lead at the King Power Stadium, Pablo Hernandez picking the ball up from 25 yards out before impressively shimmying his way through the Leicester defence - curling his effort into the top corner of the goal after 26 minutes.
However, the Yorkshire side's joy was short lived when the Foxes' summer signing Kelechi Iheanacho equalled the scoring only four minutes later with a coolly curled effort from the edge of the box. The comeback was then complete in the second half when Iheanacho turned from scorer to provider, gifting Islam Slimani an easy tap-in in the 70th. Riyad Mahrez then finished the job on 88 minutes.
It took Arsenal to get to extra time before they could overcome an impressive Norwich side and make their way into the next round. The Canaries shocked Arsenal just past the half-hour mark with English youngster Jacob Murphy finding the back of the net. It took until the 86th minute until Arsenal substitute Edward Nketiah scored on either side of the 90th minute whistle - sparing Arsene Wenger's blushed as Arsenal progressed with a 2-1 win.
Bournemouth booked their place in the quarter final of the Carabao Cup with an elementary 3-1 win over Middlesbrough. But It wasn't until the second half that the Premier League side got the opener. Debutant Jack Simpson finding the back of the net for the home side after meeting Ryan Fraser's corner with a hooked left-footed volley after 49 minutes.
The lead didn't last long, though. Ten minutes later, Boro's Marcus Tavernier broke free down the left hand side before comfortably rolling home into the far corner. However, the hosts' lead was restored 15 minutes from time when Callum Wilson - playing his first match since January - found the back of the net with a calm and collected penalty. Benik Afobe then assured the Cherries' quarter final spot, tucking home from close range after 83 minutes.
There's always one upset, and surprise surprise - Crystal Palace were handed even more disappointment to go along with their Premier League woes, falling to a hefty 4-1 defeat against Bristol City.
Palace got the scoring underway against Championship side Bristol City on 21 minutes, when Bakary Sako slotted home for the visitors - setting up what was expected to be a much needed pick-me-up for the Eagles.
However, their night quickly turned sour when the Robins hit the visitors with a quickfire double. In the space of four minutes, City's Matty Taylor and Milan Djuric each marked their names onto the score-sheet, turning the night upside down.
The second half saw the evening go from bad to worse for Palace. Joe Bryan found the back of the net with an absolute rocket of a shot on the hour mark before Callum O'Dowda completed the rout only five minutes later.
You know what they say - it's the magic of the Carabao Cup...right?
