West Ham, Leeds and Sunderland knocked out of League Cup

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Norwegian striker Jorgen Strand Larsen heads in their third goal during the English League Cup second round between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England, on Tuesday. (AFP)
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Updated 27 August 2025
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West Ham, Leeds and Sunderland knocked out of League Cup

  • Wolves win cup battle of Premier League’s bottom two
  • Troubled Sheffield Wednesday beat Leeds on penalties
  • Sunderland lose to third tier Huddersfield Town

WOLVERHAMPTON, England: Substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen scored twice in two minutes as Wolverhampton Wanderers beat fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham United 3-2 to reach the third round of the League Cup on Tuesday.

Promoted Leeds United and Sunderland followed West Ham out of the competition, losing on penalties to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday and third tier Huddersfield Town respectively.

Strand Larsen came on in the 73rd minute and made an immediate impact, the Norwegian striking in the 82nd and 84th to turn around the match at Molineux after Lucas Paqueta had headed West Ham in front in the 63rd.

Rodrigo Gomes had scored Wolves’ first goal of the season two minutes before halftime, after Hwang Hee-chan’s penalty rebounded off the post, but Tomas Soucek headed an equalizer in the 50th.

The battle between the top flight’s bottom two teams provided no respite for West Ham manager Graham Potter, whose side have been thrashed 5-1 by Chelsea and 3-0 by Sunderland in the league.

Leeds went out 3-0 on penalties after fulltime at Hillsborough ended 1-1, a shock result watched from afar by many Wednesday fans who boycotted the match in protest at the financially-troubled second-tier club’s Thai owner.

US international goalkeeper Ethan Horvath was the home hero, the man of the match mobbed by his teammates after saving twice and keeping a clean sheet in the shootout on his debut after joining on loan.

“I have been in the door four or five days. I had to learn 10 new names in the first match I played and in this game I had to learn another 10 new names,” Horvath told Sky Sports television.

League One Huddersfield won their shootout 6-5 after regulation time at the Stadium of Light ended 1-1.

Brentford beat Bournemouth 2-0 on the South Coast in the night’s other all-Premier League match, with Fabio Carvalho and Igor Thiago scoring either side of the break and against the run of play.

Brentford’s record signing Dango Ouattara, who scored on his league debut on Saturday, came on as a substitute against his old club.

Burnley, one of seven Premier League sides fielding much changed lineups from last weekend’s games, beat second tier Derby County 2-1 with Oliver Sonne scoring a stoppage-time winner at Turf Moor.

Wrexham’s Hollywood owners had plenty to smile about after their side won 3-2 at Preston North End thanks to a stoppage-time Kieffer Moore goal after the hosts had twice taken the lead in the second tier clash.

League Two (fourth tier) Cambridge United beat Championship side Charlton Athletic 3-1.

The third round draw will take place after Wednesday’s matches.


Man United climb to third, Fulham sink sorry Spurs

Updated 01 March 2026
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Man United climb to third, Fulham sink sorry Spurs

  • Red Devils have taken their tally to 19 points from a possible 21

LONDON: Benjamin Sesko stretched his hot streak with the winning goal as Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2-1 to go third in the Premier League, while Tottenham failed to dispel relegation fears after defeat at Fulham.

Sesko was handed his first start in seven games since Michael Carrick took charge at Old Trafford and rewarded his boss with another vital goal to edge United closer to a return to the Champions League.

Palace had taken an early lead at Old Trafford when Maxence Lacroix outmuscled Leny Yoro to guide in a header from Brennan Johnson’s corner.

But United hit back to remain unbeaten under Carrick and take their tally to 19 points from a possible 21.

The game swung on one incident as Lacroix was sent off and conceded a penalty for pulling back Matheus Cunha just before the hour mark.

Bruno Fernandes confidently stroked the resulting spot kick past former teammate Dean Henderson.

Fernandes was then the creator for the second as his curling cross was powered in by Sesko.

The Slovenian has now scored seven times in his last eight appearances to quieten critics of his £74 million ($100 million) price tag after a slow start to his career in England.

Tottenham remain perilously poised just four points above the relegation zone as interim boss Igor Tudor again failed to halt their alarming slide after a 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage.

Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi gave Fulham a deserved half-time lead as they moved up to ninth and back into contention for European football next season.

Richarlison headed in a late consolation for Tottenham, but they remain the only Premier League side without a win in 2026.

The one crumb of comfort for Spurs was defeat for relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, 2-1 at Brighton.

All three goals arrived in the first 15 minutes as Diego Gomez and Danny Welbeck netted for the Seagulls either side of Morgan Gibbs-White’s reply.

Forest sit two points above the drop zone ahead of a daunting trip to Manchester City on Wednesday.