Newcastle send Man City packing in League Cup; Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea advance

Newcastle United's Swedish striker Alexander Isak scores the opening goal past Manchester City's English defender Rico Lewis during the English League Cup third round match between Newcastle United and Manchester City at St James' Park on Wednesday. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 28 September 2023
Follow

Newcastle send Man City packing in League Cup; Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea advance

  • Newcastle’s reward in the fourth-round draw made 30 minutes after the final whistle is a trip to Manchester in the fourth round to face United
  • Liverpool are making a habit of conceding the first goal in games but are still unbeaten this season after beating Leicester 3-1

LONDON: Manchester City seem to win every competition they enter these days except the English League Cup.

Newcastle beat Man City 1-0 on Wednesday in the third round of the League Cup who also eluded Pep Guardiola’s team during their storied treble last season. Guardiola’s agitation showed by getting a yellow card in the closing minutes for dissent to the match officials.

“No problem, I accept everything,” Guardiola told the BBC of his booking. “Congratulations to Newcastle for the victory.”

Newcastle’s reward in the fourth-round draw made 30 minutes after the final whistle is a trip to Manchester in the fourth round to face United. It’s a rematch of last season’s final won by Man United.

Guardiola left star starters Erling Haaland, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden on the bench, yet Man City still dominated the first half without making their possession count with a goal.

Alexander Isak struck in the 53rd for Newcastle who also made sweeping lineup changes to rest key players for another midweek fixture sandwiched between two Champions League challenges.

The goal was created by Joelinton’s dribble into and across the penalty area past four City defenders before squaring a pass that found Isak alone at the far post.

Foden and Jeremy Doku came on in the second half but could not find a leveler as Haaland stayed on the bench among the unused substitutes.

Man City won the League Cup five times in six seasons through 2021 and now have been eliminated in three straight seasons.

Guardiola’s team already won the UEFA Super Cup last month, still have Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup trophies to defend, and there is a first Club World Cup to play for in December in Saudi Arabia.

Liverpool comebacks

Liverpool are making a habit of conceding the first goal in games but are still unbeaten this season after beating Leicester 3-1 with three second-half goals.

A third-minute goal by Leicester’s Kasey McAteer made it five times in eight games that Liverpool trailed 1-0, and the second time it fell behind in the opening minutes at Anfield.

It would be Leicester’s only shot on target as Liverpool rallied with 29 goal attempts, 10 of them on target, and goals for Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Diogo Jota.

Szoboszlai’s was the pick in the 70th, a rifled shot from 20 meters that glanced off the underside of the crossbar on its way to the net.

Arsenal, Chelsea advance

Arsenal and Chelsea came through games against Premier League opposition as all nine matches on Wednesday were won in regulation time and did not go directly to a penalty shootout.

Arsenal won 1-0 at Brentford thanks to Reiss Nelson’s goal in the eighth minutes after poor passing in the home defense.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea fielded three players — Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo — who were signed from Brighton in a 1-0 win over their old club.

Nicolas Jackson scored in the 50th for the Senegal forward’s second goal of the season.

Top-tier teams win

Everton reversed a 4-0 loss at Aston Villa in the Premier League last month to take a 2-1 win at Villa Park. James Garner scored in the 15th and Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the 50th for Everton, which now has two away wins in five days after a troubled start to the season.

There were routine wins for Fulham and Bournemouth at home to second-tier teams.

Fulham’s foundation for a 2-1 win over Norwich was a 12th-minute goal by Carlos Vinícius. Bournemouth struck twice in a three-minute spell early in the second half to beat Stoke 2-0.

West Ham needed a 70th-minute goal by Tomas Soucek in a 1-0 win at third-tier Lincoln.

The highest scoring game saw Blackburn beat Cardiff 5-2 in a clash of second-tier teams.

Fourth-round draw

In a draw stacked with all-Premier League matchups, Liverpool will go to Bournemouth and Arsenal is at West Ham. Chelsea got a favorable game hosting Blackburn.

Everton coach Sean Dyche will welcome his long-time former club Burnley, and Fulham must go to improving second-tier side Ipswich.

Fourth-tier Mansfield will host third-tier Port Vale to ensure at least one underdog will be in the quarterfinals. Third-tier Exeter hosts second-tier Middlesbrough.


Xabi Alonso leaves Real Madrid by mutual agreement after seven months

Updated 12 January 2026
Follow

Xabi Alonso leaves Real Madrid by mutual agreement after seven months

  • Real Madrid parted ways with Alonso a little more than seven months after appointing him
  • Arbeloa will take over the job immediately ​and will be on the sidelines on Wednesday

MADRID: Coach Xabi Alonso has left Real Madrid by mutual agreement a day after their 3-2 defeat by bitter rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, the LaLiga club said on Monday.
“Xabi Alonso will ​always have the love and admiration of all Real Madrid fans because he is a Real Madrid legend and has represented the values of our club at all times. Real Madrid will always be his home,” the club said in a statement.
They added that second-team manager and former defender Alvaro Arbeloa will take over the first team job.
Real Madrid parted ways with Alonso a little more than seven months after appointing him, following ‌a poor run ‌of results in all competitions.
Former Real midfielder ‌Alonso, ⁠who ​was handed ‌a three-year contract in May after an impressive stint with Bayer Leverkusen, saw his tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu quickly unravel.
The former Spain international had guided Leverkusen to a historic unbeaten campaign to win the Bundesliga title in the 2023-24 season, along with a German Cup triumph and a Europa League final appearance, prompting Real to bring him back to the club as manager.
However, Alonso’s ⁠return failed to replicate the success of a fellow former Real Madrid midfielder, Zinedine Zidane, who famously ‌led the club to three consecutive Champions League ‍titles.
His tenure was marred by ‍internal discord, with reports of clashes with senior players, including co-captain Federico ‍Valverde and winger Vinicius Jr.
Real’s poor performances under Alonso included humbling losses to Paris St. Germain in the Club World Cup, to Atletico Madrid in LaLiga, and Liverpool and Manchester City in the Champions League.
Arbeloa will take over the job immediately ​and will be on the sidelines on Wednesday as Real visit second-division side Albacete in a Copa del Rey round of ⁠16 tie.
After leading LaLiga earlier in the season with a comfortable five-point advantage over old rivals Barcelona, Alonso’s Real collapsed and are now second, four points behind last year’s champions Barca.
Alonso’s appointment was initially seen as a long-term project, but his dismissal signals the club’s impatience with Real falling short of their high standards.
The 44-year-old, who made 236 appearances for Los Blancos as a player between 2009 and 2014, won a LaLiga title, two Copa del Rey trophies, and the club’s long-awaited 10th European crown during his years in midfield.
Alonso also began his coaching career at Real’s academy, managing the Under-14 side to league ‌and tournament success in the 2018-19 season, before progressing to Real Sociedad’s reserve team and then Bayer Leverkusen.