Carabao Cup

KELECHI IHEANACHO fired cup kings Leicester a step closer to more Wembley glory.The Nigerian star’s shot allowed Ademola Lookman to break the deadlock at the start of the second half.
Ademola Lookman hails his 50th-minute breakthrough for the FoxesCredit: Reuters
Kelechi Iheanacho drills home a superb clincher for LeicesterCredit: Alamy
Iheanacho then sealed the Foxes’ place in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup with an emphatic late finish.
Brendan Rodgers’ FA Cup and Community Shield holders were pushed all the way by the Championship Lions on a nervy night at The Den.
But it was Iheanacho who proved to be the difference as the Premier League club ended a run of three matches without a win.
They had lost each of their previous three cup visits to Millwall, most recently in 2017 when Claudio Ranieri’s reigning Premier League champs were dumped out of the FA Cup fifth round by a 10-men Lions team then playing in League One.
Leicester made eight changes from the weekend and Millwall seven.
Millwall started the brighter and went close to taking a 13th minute lead when George Evans fired just wide after the Foxes had failed to deal with a long throw into their box.
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Lions winger Connor Mahoney then had a shot beaten away by Leicester keeper Danny Ward, making his first appearance since February.
The closest the visitors came to scoring in the first half was a Youri Tielemans free kick just over the bar.
But they seized control of this tie five minutes after the break when Millwall keeper George Long was unable to hold Kelechi Iheanacho’s low shot and Lookman smashed the ball into the unguarded net.
It was the former Charlton youngster’s first goal since he joined Leicester on loan from RB Leipzig last month.
Youri Tielemans fires close for the Foxes with a free-kickCredit: Rex
Leicester’s star midfielder Youri Tielemans fends off Millwall’s George EvansCredit: Reuters
He received a standing ovation from the 1,375 travelling fans when he was subbed by Patson Daka in the 70th minute.
The Lions, to their credit, refused to lie down but as they went hunting an equaliser they were caught counter.
And Iheanacho made the game safe for City by rifling an 88th minute shot into the roof of the net, after being played in by Wilfred Ndidi.
Daniel Amartey outjumps Millwall defender Shaun HutchinsonCredit: Rex
Leicester’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall shadows Millwall ace Billy Mitchell
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REVENGE for West Ham United. For David Moyes a first win as an away coach at the club that unceremoniously sacked him after just ten months.For Manchester United more Cup woe. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer goes on about the importance of a first trophy for this new team under him.
Manuel Lanzini celebrates his early goal at Old TraffordCredit: Rex
Manchester United suffered a shock Carabao Cup exit on Wednesday nightCredit: Rex
After five semi-finals and one final they were at least knocking on the door.
Now in this season’s Carabao Cup, the easiest one to win, they have been turned away at the front gate with this third round exit.
The victory may not mean as much for Moyes as the three points lost when these two teams met on Sunday, it will still have tasted very sweet.
Manuel Lanzini’s ninth-minute strike was the difference although the home side will point to a very valid penalty claim turned down soon after. More of that later.
Only Jarrod Bowen survived from the two starting elevens that faced each other last Sunday.
But there was no lacking in the entertainment for all that in a cracking game.
The changes afforded Dean Henderson his first start in goal for the Red Devils since long-Covid wrecked his start to the season.

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To think he would have started the campaign ahead of David de Gea had he been ok.
Now after De Gea’s fine start to the season he is very much the number two again and will be looking for a loan move to get first team football in the New Year.
It was De Gea of course who produced the injury time save from Mark Noble’s penalty spot at The London Stadium on Sunday.
That came just moments after Jesse Lingard had produced what proved to be the spectacular winner against the club he helped into Europe on loan last season.
Now he is back at United and last night started his first game for them since the 1-0 win over Watford in the FA Cup in January.
What a performance he put on as well before a full house and the biggest crowd in this competition at Old Trafford in five years.
He was undoubtedly the home side’s biggest threat going forward and deserved a first half penalty.
The fact that VAR is not used until the competition’s semi-final stage undoubtedly denied him when in the 12th minute he turned Mark Noble who pulled his shirt causing him to go down.
Noble who came on to take the last-gasp penalty on Sunday and missed it, breathed a huge sigh of relief.
By that stage West Ham had gone into the lead with a cracking goal.
Manuel Lanzini scored in the ninth minute at a stunned Old TraffordCredit: Rex
West Ham celebrate their early goal in the Carabao Cup tieCredit: AP
Ryan Fredericks nutmegged Alex Telles on the right and charged to the byline pulling the ball back for the unmarked Manuel Lanzini to side foot into the far corner.
Unfortunately for Fredericks he injured himself in setting the goal up and would go off shortly afterwards.
There was a real slick pace to the game and captain for the night Nemanja Matic went charging into the box before slipping a ball to Anthony Martial.
Unfortunately Martial’s scoring boots have long since gone missing and he clipped a shot well wide of the far post.
He has now scored in one of his last 24 appearances for United when he hit a pair in the 9-0 destruction of Southampton here last February.
Juan Mata came close to a spectacular equaliser when his own corner came back to him and his shot from a tight angle was flicked away by Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
There were no changes at the break but as the clock ticked past the hour mark with the score the same Solskjaer knew he needed more fire power.
There was no Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench but there was Mason Greenwood and on he came for Mata.
Within a minute he almost had the Red Devils level.
Donny van de Beek found him with a superb chipped through ball that Greenwood controlled and despatched in one movement only for Areola to save with his legs.
United then broke with Telles finding Jadon Sancho who charged forward and squared for Lingard but his shot was charged down.
It really was 100mph stuff, back and forth, that had the crowd enthralled.
More reinforcements were called for from the bench by Solskjaer with Bruno Fernandes and Anthony Elanga brought into the fray.
Although quite why the totally ineffective Martial stayed on the pitch and the excellent Lingard came off in the 72nd minute swaps was unclear.
Some of the fizz went out of the home side with his exit.
In fact West Ham came closest to adding to the score sheet when Andriy Yarmolenko bit the post with four minutes left.
Then Henderson came to the rescue when Noble was clean through.
He saved again one handed at his near post when Bowen had a shot.
West Ham finished much the stronger. For the Hammers, redemption for Sunday’s last gasp heartbreak.
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AARON CONNOLLY hit his first goals in eight months as fellow Brighton whizkid Tariq Lamptey made his long-awaited comeback.Irishman Connolly, 21, had not netted since a 3-3 draw against Wolves on January 2 but scored twice here in the first half to see off the Swans.
Aaron Connolly celebrates the first of his two goals in five first-half minutes for Brighton to sink the SwansCredit: Reuters
Aaron Connolly doubles Brighton’s lead before Swansea hit the bar twice
It was a satisfying night all round for Graham Potter against his old club as he saw Lamptey successfully complete 45 minutes following nine months out with a hamstring injury.
The result made it six wins in seven games in all competitions for high-flying Albion.
They did it too despite making ELEVEN changes to the team that beat Leicester on Sunday.
Midfield youngsters Taylor Richards and Marc Leonard caught the eye on a rare appearance – with the latter only starting due to Enock Mwepu picking up an injury in the warm-up.
Potter hailed Swansea’s appointment of Russell Martin the build-up, believing the Welsh side will be back in the Premier League one day if they stick with their new boss.
Possession obsessive Martin can look back on a few chances missed in an even game.
But his side were ultimately undone by Connolly’s ruthlessness.
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Seagulls’ frontman Aaron Connolly slots his 33rd-minute openerCredit: Reuters
Swansea duo Liam Walsh and Rhys Williams sandwich Brighton’s Aaron Connolly

His first came ten minutes before the break and had a touch of fortune to it with a big deflection helping the ball past keeper Steven Benda.
Yet Connolly’s excellent second touch after receiving Alexis Mac Allister’s through ball before he fired off his shot showed his quality.
It underlined just why Potter has shown so much faith in a player who had only netted six career goals before last night and has had off-the-field problems.
The confidence gained from that opener was clear as Connolly coolly dispatched his second just before the break.
Again, Mac Allister fed the forward but he still had much to do as he ran at the defender and curled a fine shot into the far corner. 
Swansea struck the woodwork twice through Liam Cullen and Korey Smith in the second half.
But Brighton held them off and even handed forgotten man Jurgen Locadia his first Seagulls appearance in more than two years, before fellow sub Pascal Gross almost broke the crossbar with a late free-kick.
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