A review of Wednesday's action in the Carabao Cup, where Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham all progressed.
Liverpool 3-3 Leicester (5-4 pens)
Second-choice goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher saved two penalties in the shoot-out which Liverpool won 5-4 against Leicester to send them into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Substitute Diogo Jota struck the winning spot-kick – having come off the bench to score – but the real hero was Takumi Minamino who made it 3-3 with seconds remaining of six added minutes.
The visitors crumbled under the pressure exerted in the second half having twice cruised into a two-goal lead as Jamie Vardy scored his ninth and 10th goals in 14 appearances against the under-strength Reds.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain briefly made it 2-1 before a brilliant James Maddison strike restored the Foxes’ advantage.
However, the introduction of first-team reinforcements for the second half changed the dynamic as Jota and League Cup specialist Minamino, with his sixth in five appearances, forced a shoot-out.
Brentford 0-2 Chelsea
An own goal and a Jorginho penalty fired a mix-and-match Chelsea side into the Carabao Cup semi-finals after a 2-0 win at Brentford.
With the Blues still ravaged by Covid-19, boss Thomas Tuchel handed debuts to academy prospects Harvey Vale, Jude Soonsup-Bell and Xavier Simons for their last-eight meeting with their west London neighbours.
But it was substitutes N’Golo Kante, Reece James, Mason Mount and Jorginho who turned the tie in Chelsea’s favour.
They left it late but Pontus Jansson’s own goal finally broke the deadlock and Jorginho wrapped up victory from the spot.
Tottenham 2-1 West Ham
Steven Bergwijn scored his first goal of the season and provided an assist to help Tottenham continue their momentum under Antonio Conte by beating West Ham to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
The Netherlands forward broke the deadlock after 29 minutes and it was the catalyst for three goals in five minutes with Jarrod Bowen’s equaliser quickly countered by Lucas Moura putting Spurs 2-1 ahead which is how it finished.
Victory helps Tottenham take another step towards ending their trophy drought dating back to 2008 and made it five wins under their new boss.
The visitors were without top goalscorer Michail Antonio due to a positive Covid-19 test while Spurs reverted to their usual 3-4-3 formation under Conte, who made six changes from Sunday’s draw with Liverpool.
