ClapThe EFL Cup is nowhere near the top of the list in terms of competitions that Premier League clubs want to win, but all bar one of them got through safely to the next round last night. Of the seven Premier League teams to play, only Tottenham failed in reaching the fourth round of this competition.
Two teams won on home soil, with Arsenal being one of those and recording the biggest victory of the night. They won 5-0 against Nottingham Forest to comprehensively book their place in the next round of the competition, with Watford being the other team to win at home. They have not started the Premier League season well and while this competition isn’t something they are too concerned about, picking up a win will certainly help their confidence.
Four Away Wins and Four Clean Sheets
The four teams that played away from home all kept clean sheets in their dominant wins, with Leicester and Southampton recording the biggest victories.
Southampton won the South Coast Derby 4-0 at Portsmouth, a game that was billed as a potentially tasty affair, but ended being very one sided. Leicester also won 4-0, they beat newly promoted Championship team Luton in what was a very simple and easy game for them.
Manchester City made the short journey to Preston where they beat their Championship opponents 3-0. Raheem Sterling was a surprise starter for City, who were expected to rest him, and he got himself on the score sheet with the first goal of the game, as well as proving to be a threat to the Preston defence after that.
The final victorious team on Tuesday night was Everton, and if ever there was a team that needed a win from somewhere, it was The Toffees. They have disappointed so far this season, and are well below where they should be. They were beaten at home by newcomers Sheffield United in the Premier League last weekend, a defeat to another Sheffield club on Tuesday would have been a disaster for them.
They didn’t however, they won 2-0 against Sheffield Wednesday who have not started too badly in the Championship, so this was a good result for Everton and they will be looking to build on that in the coming weeks.
Tottenham the Only Losers
The only Premier League team to lose on Tuesday night was Tottenham, although they did manage to keep a clean sheet like the other four away teams. However, their game with League Two Colchester ended 0-0, with the home side going on to win the game on penalties.
Tottenham haven’t started the season well and this adds another problem to their list of growing issues. While they will not mind being out of this competition too much, a loss to a League Two side was simply not acceptable and has done nothing to get the fans on board.
They are an interesting team to watch over the coming weeks, with issues in and around the club hanging over the players and manager Mauricio Pochettino.
