Brighton, October 31 (IANS): Holders Liverpool put their name into the hat for the Carabao Cup Last Eight after overcoming Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2 at the Amex.
After a goalless first half at Amex Stadium, Cody Gakpo broke the deadlock just seconds after the restart when he found the top corner with an unstoppable effort.
Vitezslav Jaros marked his first start for the Reds with a stunning save to deny a Simon Adingra header soon after, pushing the attempt against the post.
Gakpo then added a second, winning possession and driving into the area before firing into the near bottom corner, but Brighton pulled one back via Adingra, who netted a rebound from Evan Ferguson’s saved shot.
However, Luis Diaz grabbed a third goal for the visitors by wriggling free inside a crowded box and sending a reverse shot in off the post – and though a deflected effort from Tariq Lamptey offered the home team some late hope, Liverpool’s defence of the trophy continues into the last-eight stage.
Liverpool will travel to Southampton in the quarterfinals, scheduled to be played on December 17.
In other match, Arsenal moved into the quarterfinals after a comfortable 3-0 win at Championship side Preston North End. Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring for the visitors before the Gunners' 17-year-old midfielder Ethan Nwaneri doubled their lead before the break with a beautiful curling strike from just outside the area.
Kai Havertz then made the game safe just before hour-mark after heading past Freddie Woodman from Jakub Kiwior’s ball in from the left.
The Gunners will take on Crystal Palace in the last eight fixture at the Emirates Stadium, where they beat the Eagles 5-0 in January last season.
Manchester City exited the Carabao Cup following a 2-1 defeat away at Tottenham Hotspur, who inflicted City’s first defeat of the season in all competitions to reach the quarterfinals.
Goals from Timo Werner and Pape Matar Sarr put the hosts in control in Round Four encounter in the capital.
Matheus Nunes produced a fine finish in first half stoppage time, raising hopes of a comeback by Pep Guardiola’s Blues but they couldn’t find a leveller in the second period to force penalties.
Timo Werner struck a fantastic early goal to give Spurs the perfect start which was enhanced further thanks to an equally-impressive finish from Pape Matar Sarr, before the visitors pulled one back on the stroke of half-time through Nunes.
That could have led to a nervy second half but Spurs continued to create the better chances with Werner, Brennen Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski all spurning good opportunities. City’s best chance of an equaliser came in the closing minutes, Nico O’Reilly’s effort cleared off the line by Yves Bissouma as Spurs held out to record another famous win over City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Elsewhere, Manchester United, with interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy in the dugout, put five past Leicester City, including a stunning longr-range effort from Casemiro to open the scoring in a 5-2 success.
United racked up four goals in the first half alone. Casemiro got two of them, with Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes also on the scoresheet.
Yet it was 4-2 at the break, a very rare occurrence in our history, thanks to replies from Bilal El Khannous and Conor Coady.
In the second half, Fernandes struck his second to ensure a lively atmosphere was maintained on a night van Nistelrooy must have treasured. substitute Amad was denied a strike of rare quality when his acrobatic overhead kick flew narrowly wide of Ward's right-hand post.
Although Bayindir had to be alert to thwart Boubakary Soumara's attempt, Amad seemed on a mission to score at the other end. The Ivory Coast international lashed into the side-netting after a one-two with Fernandes and then had a shot saved by Ward on the turn.
Either side of Fernandes hooking a hat-trick opportunity into the Stretford End, from Casemiro's cute pass, Will Alves and Stephy Mavididi forced more stops out of Bayindir. There were no further goals, with Casemiro blazing an ambitious last-gasp shot way over.
Spurs and United will lock horns in the quarterfinals on December 17.
