Carabou Cup- Third Round

Manchester United went up against Derby County in a third round clash of the Carabou Cup. This was supposed to be a relatively easy fixture for the Red Devils but it was far from what they expected. United took the lead as early as 3 minutes into the game from a fast counter attacking move. They moved the ball around beautifully before Juan Mata curled it into the back of the net. The first half ended without any more goals. The second half started and Derby was looking to threaten the United goal from time to time. They finally received a free kick on the edge of the box. Harry Wilson, a 22-year old on loan from Liverpool, stepped up to take it, and boy did he deliver! United goalie Romero could only stand and watch as he curled the ball into the left top corner. Sublime! Against all odds, Derby took the lead in the 85^th minute through Jack Marriott and United looked neck-deep in trouble. Fellaini however gave United the all-important equaliser in the 95^th minute. Derby went on to beat united 8-7 on penalties as Phil Jones’ miss cost United the game. Frank Lampard, the Derby manager, had done it against his mentor and old boss at Chelsea, sending United crashing out of the Carabou Cup.



The main attraction of the third round however was the match between Liverpool and Chelsea. It’s needless to say that this match had all the ingredients of a classic. The first half ended goalless after both the teams got several chances to go ahead in the match. Alvaro Morata got quite a few chances to put Chelsea ahead. Caballero pulled off two brilliant saves which probably had goal written all over it, one from Sadio Mane, the other a curling shot from Keita. The second half began with what can be called the miss of the season. Sturridge went past the keeper only to put the ball wide while aiming at an empty goal. He soon redeemed himself though, as he scored the first goal for Liverpool. Keita’s shot was parried by the keeper and it fell for Sturridge who finished it with an overhead kick. The Chelsea manager finally decided to take Willian off and put Hazard on the field. Emerson Palmieri scored the equaliser as the ball fell for him for an easy finish. But the best goal of the match came from the Belgian superstar. After receiving the ball in the midfield, he went past half the Liverpool team to cut in from the left, take on two more defenders in the box, and finish it off with a stupendous strike. Eden Hazard at his blistering best. Chelsea won the match 2-1 thanks to Hazard’s 85^th minute stunner.

Tottenham won against 10-man Watford on penalties after playing a 2-2 draw. Man City also got past their opponents on spot kicks after drawing Oxford United 0-0. Everton take on Southampton tonight in the last game of the third round.