The quarter-finals of the 2024-25 League got underway on Wednesday as Arsenal hosted Crystal Palace, while Newcastle United and Liverpool faced off against Brentford and Southampton, respectively.
A shock exit was on the cards at the Emirates Stadium when Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring within four minutes to give Palace the lead against Arsenal, but Gabriel Jesus had other ideas.
Following a relatively quiet first half, the Brazilian quickly levelled matters after the break before adding a further two goals, the second of which came in the 81st minute.
Ex-Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah pulled one back four minutes later to set up a frenetic finale, but Mikel Arteta’s side held on to book their place in the last four.
Fresh off the back of their 2-1 defeat to city rivals Chelsea, Brentford visited St James’ Park to square off against a confident Newcastle side who put four past Leicester City at the weekend.
Amid the current speculation surrounding his future, Sandro Tonali grabbed two first-half goals to leave Eddie Howe’s side in pole position, after which Fabian Schar sealed the deal 20 minutes from time.
Since going four matches without a win, the Magpies have now won consecutive matches by a combined score of 7-1 and are currently two games away from a second League Cup final in three years.
Defending champions Liverpool were handed perhaps the easiest quarter-final draw against managerless Southampton, although their task on the south coast was anything but easy.
First-half strikes from Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott set Arne Slot’s side on their way, after which a stubborn Saints side held firm to prevent the league leaders from scoring again.
They pulled one back just shy of the hour mark through Cameron Archer.
A 2-1 win was far from pretty, but it was enough to keep Liverpool’s quest for back-to-back League Cups alive as they march on into the last four.
The final quarter-final clash sees Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United lock horns in London tomorrow, at the end of which the semi-final draw will be conducted.
