Liverpool never know when they're beaten, Rashford becomes Man Utd's main man, pressure eases on Silva, but London loses out...
Thursday 31 October 2019 16:07, UK
Jamie Carragher said Liverpool's shoot-out win would be the best night of some of their young players' lives, and how they deserved those memories after going toe-to-toe with a far more experienced Arsenal side and ultimately coming out on top.
The young guns all had a part to play - Caoimhin Kelleher was the penalty-saving hero, Curtis Jones scored the winning spot-kick, Neco Williams made Divock Origi's last-minute equaliser, and Sepp van den Berg's boundless enthusiasm to complete more recoveries than any of his team-mates.
The one minor disappointment was that of Rhian Brewster, tipped for a breakthrough season at Anfield this year but who did little to suggest he can make an impact at the top-end of the Premier League.
"I thought the young players on both sides were, in some ways, better than the senior ones," Carragher added.
Whatever Liverpool's next generation go onto achieve in their careers, they gave a fine account of themselves on the big stage, and their belief to keep their heads up on a night when not everything went right at either end can only be a positive.
Ron Walker
It's now four goals in four games for Marcus Rashford. Five in five if you include his strike in England's 6-0 thrashing of Bulgaria. The 22-year-old has come through a difficult period in stunning style, showing that he may yet be the answer to Manchester United's striker dilemma after all.
He dispatched his penalty coolly at Stamford Bridge - putting his miss against Norwich at the weekend behind him - but it's his second goal that will live longest in the memory. The free-kick was over 30 yards out, but his dipping, swerving strike was unstoppable. Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud.
Manchester United will need him to continue this outstanding form in the weeks and months ahead, but right now they can simply sit back and savour his Stamford Bridge heroics. They are into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and Rashford is leading the charge.
Nick Wright
The temptation was probably there for Frank Lampard to start his best Chelsea side against Manchester United in an attempt to avenge their opening-day defeat in the Premier League, but the six changes he made - and the youngsters he fielded - saw him stick to his principles and showed where his priorities lie.
"We've had seven wins on the trot and we've had taxing games in the Champions League," said the Chelsea boss. "Our form in the [Premier League] has been really good and I think it's quite clear those are the priorities.
"We want to win football matches and give everything, but when it comes to games like today I have to look at my squad and see who deserves minutes, and this competition provides an element of that for us. I saw a lot of positives. I hate losing but there is a big picture and a lot of big games for us to come. We move on and focus now on what is in front of us."
Lampard will know from his playing career that success in this competition can breed success elsewhere down the line, but instead some of his key players got a vital rest ahead of a trip to Watford on Saturday evening - live on Sky Sports Premier League - and a key Champions League clash with Ajax next Tuesday.
Simeon Gholam
"He does look like he could end up being a superstar doesn't he?"
Those were the thoughts of Jamie Carragher after Gabriel Martinelli scored twice at Anfield, just as he had against Nottingham Forest and Standard Liege already this season. It is seven goals in four starts for the Brazilian now. He is the first Arsenal player to score in his first four starts for the club since Ian Wright.
It is too soon for serious comparisons with the club's former record scorer but this has been such a promising start from the striker. His goals were not the most difficult of finishes but the 18-year-old has a swagger about him that suggests there is belief there that belies his age. Ray Parlour was equally impressed.
"I like his energy," Parlour told Sky Sports. "He is a very good young player coming through, Martinelli. They were a couple of good finishes tonight so that will give him a lot of confidence." In truth, confidence does not look likely to be an issue. Martinelli looks ready.
Adam Bate
This was the West Midlands derby that wasn't thanks to Nuno Espirito Santo's team selection. Wolves took an away following of 5,300 supporters to Villa Park but the visitors saw a team of youngsters beaten 2-1 as Aston Villa progressed to the quarter-finals instead.
Dean Smith rested players too - making nine changes to the line-up that lost to Manchester City. However, all but one of the Aston Villa outfield players have featured for the club in the Premier League this season. Nine of the 14 Wolves players who made it onto the pitch are yet to see any involvement in that competition this season.
The travelling fans will have enjoyed seeing 16-year-old Chem Campbell have his opportunity and some of the youngsters impressed. But while there was a hint of a second-half fightback this was not the derby day contest that some had hoped for. With Wolves returning to Europa League action next week, it seems something had to give for Nuno.
For Aston Villa, a number of the fringe players made the case for more Premier League minutes with Henri Lansbury setting up both goals for Smith's side. This is a busy period for Villa too having faced Manchester City last weekend and hosting Liverpool on Saturday. But a Carabao Cup run will always be welcome for the five-time winners.
Adam Bate
Everton badly needed this. After their VAR-affected defeat at Brighton left them hovering just two points above the relegation zone in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup offered an opportunity to bounce back and find some positivity - and they took it.
Under-pressure boss Marco Silva set out his stall ahead of the tie with Watford, insisting "we want to reach the final", and, despite making five changes to his side from the trip to the Amex, arguably strengthened his XI with the likes of Seamus Coleman, Yerry Mina and Dominic Calvert-Lewin coming into the side.
Their opponents - who had made eight changes of their own - have never won at Goodison Park and Mason Holgate's first goal for Everton and Richarlison's late strike extended that run to 15 matches in all competitions.
It was fully deserved by the hosts, who had hit the woodwork twice before breaking the deadlock in the second half, and they now head into the quarter-finals - a stage they've reached just once in the past 11 seasons, when they made the final four in 2015/16. A welcome distraction.
Peter Smith
While some Premier League managers refuse to place importance on the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola has taken a different approach at Manchester City, winning the competition in both of his seasons in charge - and the comfortable cruise past Southampton on Tuesday night made it 14 games unbeaten in the competition.
Of course it helps when Guardiola can make nine changes to his starting XI and still field a team as strong as he did at the Etihad, although there was still room for youngsters Tommy Doyle, Eric Garcia and Phil Foden to impress.
But the star of the show once again was striker Sergio Aguero, whose ruthless finishing in the box was as sharp as ever as he took his League Cup tally to 10 goals and his overall Man City haul to 243 on his 350th appearance for the club.
It's going to take something special to stop them making it three in a row.
Peter Smith
Colchester have already dispatched Tottenham and Crystal Palace in this year's Carabao Cup and they'll now be eyeing up another Premier League scalp ahead of Thursday morning's draw for the quarter-finals, after knocking out League Two rivals Crawley.
Colchester had to do it the hard way, though, after 40-year-old Dannie Bulman - the oldest outfield player in the league - smashed in the first goal of the game from 25 yards to put Crawley ahead.
Striker Luke Norris pulled Colchester level just 78 seconds later though and, after Cohen Bramall's free-kick fortuitously went in off goalkeeper Michael Luyambula after hitting the bar, former Crawley loanee Luke Gambin sealed the Essex side's place in the last eight.
It will be just the second time in their history Colchester have featured in the quarter-finals of the League Cup - their other appearance at this stage coming back in 1974 - but they can take inspiration from the last League Two side to get this far. Bradford City went all the way to the final in 2012/13…
Peter Smith
