The second leg of the Carabao Cup Semi Final games are just around the corner! Let’s take a look ahead of all the action as four teams will soon become two in the next round of fixture
Toon On Top ⚫⚪
In the first leg games, the action all kicked off at the Emirates as Arsenal welcomed Eddie Howe’s Newcastle side to North London on Tuesday, 7th January at 8pm.
Missing their main man Saka, Arsenal struggled to find the back of the net. Gabriel Martinelli hit the woodwork in the first half as the score remained 0-0.
Just before the end of the first half, the Magpies’ in-form striker Alexander Isak put the visitors ahead. He was assisted by Jacob Murphy who received the ball following a long free kick from Marin Dubravka in goal.
Five minutes after half-time, Newcastle doubled their lead in a well worked goal finished off by Anthony Gordon.
Despite further chances at both ends, Newcastle managed to hold their lead and go into the next round with a comfortable two goal cushion.
St James’ Park is no easy surrounding for the Gunners, so they will need to be on their A game if they want to progress to the final.
A Controversial Spurs Win 👀
In the other North London stadium, current Premier League leaders Liverpool took on Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Spurs opted to start new signing Atonin Kinsky between the sticks in his debut, just three days after joining the club.
Early in the game, Tottenham lost Rodrigo Bentancur to a nasty looking head injury, which led to a long amount of added time at the end of the first half.
Liverpool had chances throughout the game including a fierce strike from Trent Alexander-Arnold that was blocked off the line by Radu Dragusin and another effort from Darwin Nunez that was caught by Kinsky.
However, in the 79th minute, Dominic Solanke thought he had put Spurs ahead against his old side but was soon ruled offside.
This wasn’t Solanke’s final contribution in the game though, as shortly after he outmuscled Ibrahim Konate and passed the ball to 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall, who slotted away his first goal for the club.
The goal was somewhat controversial, as there was debate over whether Bergvall should’ve still been on the pitch following his sliding challenge on Kostas Tsimikas.
Despite the protests from Virgil Van Dijk and Arne Slot, it was too late for Liverpool and the game ended in a 1-0 win for Spurs.
Road To The Final 🏆
The second leg fixtures are both there for the taking. Who is going to make it to the final at Wembley?
Liverpool are a tough side to take on at Anfield and have a point to prove after the first leg, so Spurs will need to be even sharper on the night.
Similar to Anfield, the Newcastle supporters know how to the raise the roof at St James’, meaning it could be even tougher for Mikel Arteta’s side to claw back the deficit.
However, Arsenal have a strong squad and play some impressive stuff when they’re at the top of their game, so anything could happen on the night.
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