Carabao Cup

NICK POPE is OUT of next week’s Carabao Cup final after his crazy red card against Liverpool.The Newcastle goalkeeper came flying out of his area to rase Mo Salah to a long ball by Alisson.
Nick Pope was sent off against Liverpool in bizarre scenesCredit: Getty
He completely misjudged the ball and handled out of his areaCredit: Getty
Anthony Taylor showed the red card which rules him out of the Carabao Cup finalCredit: Reuters

But as he leapt forward to try and head it away, he completely misjudged the ball and grabbed it with his arm – before booting it away and wiping out his own defender.
Anthony Taylor had no choice but to show the red card.
And that means Pope, 30, will be slapped with a one-match domestic ban – ruling him out of the Wembley showdown with Manchester United next weekend.
Martin Dubravka came on for 20-year-old midfielder Elliot Anderson at St James’ Park with just 22 minutes played – and the Magpies already 2-0 down.
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But Dubravka, 34, cannot play in the Carabao Cup final because he is cup-tied… after featuring for the Red Devils during his Old Trafford loan spell.
Karl Darlow looks set to be unavailable because he is out on loan at Hull City.
It means Loris Karius – Liverpool’s blunder goalkeeper in the 2018 Champions League final – will likely have to go between the sticks to try and stop Marcus Rashford and co.
Toon also have former academy talent Mark Gillespie on their books with the 30-year-old yet to make a senior appearance since returning to the club from Motherwell in 2020.
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Karius, 29, has not played a competitive match since a 1-1 draw for Union Berlin during a loan spell from Anfield on February 28, 2021 – almost exactly two years before the final.
Pope conceded just one goal in five League Cup matches this season – Che Adams’ long-range strike in the semi-final – to help book Newcastle’s place in a major final for the first time since 1999. More

CASEMIRO will be available for the Carabao Cup final after Manchester United decided NOT to appeal his suspension. The Brazilian midfielder, 30, was sent off on Saturday after a VAR check revealed Casemiro had has hands around Will Hughes’ neck during a melee against Crystal Palace.
Casemiro will miss Man Utd’s next three Premier League fixturesCredit: Getty
Casemiro was dismissed for having his hands around Will Hughes neckCredit: Getty
He was then dismissed by Andre Marriner upon the advice of Video Assistant Referee Tony Harrington.
United held on to win the game 2-1 despite being down to 10 men, but Casemiro’s importance to the team cannot be overstated.
This led to Erik ten Hag and Co considering whether to appeal his red card to try and make him available for the double-header against Leeds and the fixture against Leicester.
Ten Hag admitted the club were considering an appeal, but ultimately opted against it.
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Speaking on the suspension, the Dutchman said: “Consider [appealing ban], yeah.
“Still it’s for me not the right decision but I don’t think we have a chance in a legal process.
“I always have to play with the players who are available and we have a squad, we have many good players in our squad who are also not playing in the starting XI and I have to do it. After a game I can’t say Casemiro is not there.
If the Red Devils had appealed the ban, there was a chance of Casemiro being handed a further one-match suspension.
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This would have ruled him out of the Carabao Cup final on February 26 and denied United an instrumental cog in their system against top-four rivals Newcastle.
However, Casemiro will be available to feature in the Europa League when United face off against Spanish giants Barcelona.
Furthermore, David De Gea reckons United have the perfect man in Marcel Sabitzer to replace Casemiro in the next few games.
Casemiro will only be able to play against Barcelona until the Carabao Cup final More

MANCHESTER UNITED star Jadon Sancho has uploaded a emotional message on social media after his return to action. The winger made his first appearance for Erik ten Hag’s side since late October on Wednesday, coming off the bench in the Carabao Cup semi-final win over Nottingham Forest.
Jadon Sancho had a big smile on his face as he made his first appearance back after a tough time away from footballCredit: PA
Sancho took a break from football to focus on his mental well-being and after getting a huge ovation from the Old Trafford crowd, Sancho thanked fans for their kindness.
He wrote on Instagram: “Wow! Just want to say a massive thank you to everyone for the support I have received over the past few weeks, especially to the fans.
“My focus is to give my all to my team and the club.
“I’m so happy to be back out on the pitch, see you soon.”
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Sancho was a regular in the Man Utd line-up at the beginning of the campaign but managed just three goals and one assist, coming off the back of a tough first season at the club.
The 22-year-old missed out on a place in England’s World Cup squad and consequently took a break from social media.
With his confidence low, Sancho was sent to the Netherlands to work on his physical and mental health alone.
He then returned to Man Utd in late December as domestic football resumed and Ten Hag did not rush him back.
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The former Borussia Dortmund star was instead given an individual training programme, practising away from the rest of the squad before eventually joining his team-mates again.
Sancho and Ten Hag looked thrilled as he came on for Antony to play for 27 minutes versus Forest.
United were 3-0 up on aggregate and after his introduction they sealed their trip to Wembley to face Newcastle in the final with goals from Anthony Martial and Fred.
Sancho, who has been seeing a sports psychologist, could be set to make his first Premier League appearance in just over three months as Man Utd face Crystal Palace this afternoon. More

ANTONY was slammed as “embarrassing” and a “bluffer” in a brutal assessment by Gabby Agbonlahor.And then the former Aston Villa striker mocked the Manchester United winger’s trademark spin.
Antony came under heavy criticism from Gabby AgbonlahorCredit: Getty
The former Villa striker mocked the trademark spin ball trick live on the radioCredit: talkSPORT
The Red Devils splashed out £85.5million to land the Brazilian from Ajax.
But the 22-year-old has chipped in with just five goals and one assist in 22 appearances so far – and no goal contributions in the Premier League since early October, prompting accusations of being a “YouTube player”.

And Agbonlahor is particularly disappointed by his efforts, most recently against Forest last night when he again pulled out the ball trick.
The three-cap ex-England man fumed on talkSPORT: “Manchester United have looked better since Erik ten Hag has come in and they’ve done better in the last few months.
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“But when I look at Antony, there’s been a few big transfers in the Premier League, £86m for him…
“I think he’s a bluffer. I think when he gets the ball, he doesn’t take a player on. He doesn’t have the speed to take players on.
“With 11 league games he’s got three goals, no assists. Four Carabao Cup games, one goal, no assists. Two FA Cup games, one goal, one assist. That’s one assist in all competitions.
“He doesn’t do what Rashford does. Rashford gets the ball direct, takes players on, puts balls into the box.”
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Agbonlahor continued his rant and then got out of his chair in the studio and hopped around in a circle to demonstrate the infamous spin.
The Villa Park hero added: “The big thing for me is Antony’s number of crosses. He’s put in 1.5 crosses [average] per game.
“If you’re a striker, you’re making runs and he’s doing his tricks, cutting in, cutting back, not putting the ball in the box.
“I played with a great winger, Ashley Young, still playing now at 37. His first season at Aston Villa, he got nine goals and 14 assists.
“You always knew he was going to put the ball in, take a player on, do his stepovers, do his chops, but he’d always put the ball in the right areas.
“For me, Antony’s 1.5 crosses a game is not good enough.”
On the spin, Agbonlahor concluded: “What would you do if you were a defender?
“It’s embarrassing, he needs to liven up!”

Antony pulled out the trick in the win over ForestCredit: Sky Sports More