ClapChelsea strolled into the fourth round of the EFL Cup last night thanks to a comfortable 7-1 victory over League Two side Grimsby Town. The win will no doubt have pleased boss Frank Lampard, who will have been pleased to see more youngsters at the club show their worth and stake a claim for future appearances in the bigger competition.
Three League One Clubs Beat Premier League Opponents
While it was a good night for Lampard and his team, this certainly wasn’t the case for three Premier League teams, who all suffered defeat at the hands of League One opposition.
The biggest result of the night came at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford. A 0-0 first half saw this game remain tight until the home side exploded into life, scoring four unanswered goals against Premier League West Ham to win the game 4-0. This result stands out as not only the best of the night, but also the best of the round as Oxford marched on to the fourth round.
There was upset at home for Sheffield United, who were beaten by League One Sunderland 1-0 at Brammall Lane. United boss Chris Wilder changed things around for this one, and was critical of his players afterwards saying that none had shown him they had the ability to play in the Premier League, a competition which of course has their full focus this season. However, this defeat will certainly not do much for morale, taking some of the good feeling away after they recorded a fantastic 2-0 victory away at Everton on Saturday.
The final victory for the third tier came at Burton, where the home side won 2-0 against Bournemouth. While this is of course a surprise, it shouldn’t be too much of one based on what Burton did in the competition last season. They reached the semi finals on that occasion, eventually being knocked out by Manchester City and it looks as though they are up for the cup yet again this season.
Scares for Manchester United and Wolves
Both Manchester United and Wolves needed penalties to dispatch of their lower league opposition. United were terribly disappointing in their home game with League One Rochdale, drawing 1-1 after 90 minutes despite fielding a team that included Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingaard. Dale deserve a ton of credit for the way they played in that game, but it wasn’t to be for them, with penalties going to way of the home team.
Wolves were another team that required penalties. They led 1-0 against Reading until stoppage time, before conceding a late equaliser to their Championship opponents, but then came back and won the tie on penalties.
Big Ties Drawn in Fourth Round
Chelsea vs Manchester United and Liverpool vs Arsenal headline what is going to be a fantastic fourth round in the EFL Cup, with the full draw available below.
Everton v Watford
Aston Villa v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester City v Southampton
Burton v Leicester
Crawley v Colchester
Chelsea v Manchester United
Oxford v Sunderland
Liverpool v Arsenal
Ties will be played October 29th & 30th
