Wayne Rooney failed to convert a spot-kick as Manchester United lost 3-1 on penalties to second-tier Middlesbrough in the League Cup on Wednesday, while Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool edged Bournemouth.
After 120 goalless minutes at Old Trafford, the fourth-round tie went to penalties and with Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young all fluffing their lines, Championship side Middlesbrough pulled off a memorable win.
United followed holders Chelsea and Arsenal in exiting the competition, while Middlesbrough set up a home quarter-final with Everton.
“You can say it’s unlucky, but I said that after the City match also,” said United manager Louis van Gaal, whose side drew 0-0 with Manchester City on Sunday.
“You have to force the luck, but we didn’t do that because we didn’t score. That’s why I’m disappointed.”
A low-key game that saw Van Gaal make nine changes to his starting XI sprang to life mid-way through the second half, with home defender Daley Blind the central figure.
The Dutchman was involved in two huge scares for United — first hacking the ball into his own net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside, and then dispatching a back-pass that stand-in goalkeeper Sergio Romero almost allowed to bobble in for what would have been a comical own goal.
As the game ticked into injury time there was a flurry of chances, with Jesse Lingard hitting the post for United and Romero saving from Grant Leadbitter and Stewart Downing at the other end.
United pair Anthony Martial and Marouane Fellaini each had penalty shouts rejected in extra time and went close with headers, and the home side were left to rue their missed opportunities.
Rooney’s opening penalty was brilliantly saved by Tomas Mejias and with Carrick blazing over the bar and Mejias also denying Young, spot-kicks from Leadbitter, Downing and Ben Gibson took Aitor Karanka’s men through.
“I’m very proud of my players,” said Karanka. “It was an amazing night for them.”
Liverpool’s new manager Klopp tasted victory at the fourth attempt as his side beat Bournemouth 1-0 at Anfield.
Liverpool had recorded draws against Tottenham Hotspur, Rubin Kazan and Southampton in Klopp’s first three games after succeeding Brendan Rodgers, but Nathaniel Clyne’s first-half strike got the German off the mark.
“It’s better than a draw,” Klopp told Sky Sports with a wry smile.
“I’m really satisfied tonight because this team never played together since I’m here — young players, new players, players who didn’t play for a long time because of injuries — and they did really well.”
Clyne struck in the 17th minute, following up after Joao Teixeira’s audacious back-heel had been cleared off the line to score his first Liverpool goal and set up a quarter-final at his former club Southampton.
Premier League leaders Manchester City will host Hull City in the last eight after a routine 5-1 home victory over Crystal Palace, which came at the cost of an injury to right-back Pablo Zabaleta.
Wilfried Bony headed City in front from Aleksandar Kolarov’s 22nd-minute corner before Kelechi Iheanacho teed up Kevin De Bruyne to tap in his sixth goal in nine club games shortly before half-time.
Zabaleta was stretchered off early in the second half after hurting his knee in a collision with Wilfried Zaha, with Bacary Sagna replacing him.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini said the Argentine had damaged the medial ligament in his right knee and would undergo tests on Thursday.
Second-half goals by Iheanacho, Yaya Toure, from the penalty spot, and 17-year-old substitute Manu Garcia sealed victory, with Palace replying through Damien Delaney’s 89th-minute header.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa began life without sacked manager Tim Sherwood by losing 2-1 at Premier League rivals Southampton, who won courtesy of second-half goals from Maya Yoshida and Graziano Pelle.
Tuesday’s results:
Eden Hazard squandered the decisive penalty as Stoke City exacerbated Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho’s misery with victory in the League Cup on Tuesday, while second-tier Sheffield Wednesday stunned Arsenal 3-0.
After Jon Walters put Stoke ahead with a fine 20-yard shot at the Britannia Stadium, Chelsea substitute Loic Remy, on for the injured Diego Costa, lashed home an injury-time equaliser to make the score 1-1.
Following a goalless period of extra time, the first nine penalties of the shootout were all scored, only for the out-of-form Hazard to see his 10th spot-kick parried by Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland, condemning Chelsea to a ninth defeat of the season and sending the holders out.
Defending his team’s performance, Mourinho said: “What the players did tonight is face some people that write and speak, and said: ‘You are stupid’.
“What some people write and say is really bad for the players. Maybe they think my players are like them when they were players. My players don’t do that. They tried everything.”
Chelsea’s exit came hot on the heels of a 2-1 defeat at West Ham United on Saturday, which left Mourinho facing a Football Association misconduct charge after being sent to the stands, and ramped up the pressure on the Portuguese ahead of Saturday’s Premier League visit of Liverpool.
With Chelsea currently 15th in the league table and third in their Champions League group, British newspapers have speculated that Mourinho could be sacked if their fortunes do not improve quickly.
Matters began to conspire against Chelsea in the 33rd minute when Costa went off nursing an apparent rib injury following an earlier collision with Butland.
Walters broke the deadlock in fine style in the 52nd minute, gathering a pass from Glenn Whelan on the edge of the box, swivelling and crashing a shot in off the crossbar.
In reply, Kurt Zouma struck a post for Chelsea before Remy levelled matters in stoppage time, crashing a shot into the roof of the net after Zouma flicked on Willian’s corner.
Moments later Stoke’s Phil Bardsley was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for hacking down Chelsea substitute Kenedy.
But the visitors could not make the most of their numerical advantage in extra time and in the ensuing shootout, it was Hazard, who has endured a wretched start to the season, who blinked first.
WENGER SCATHING
At Hillsborough, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal were well beaten by Championship side Wednesday and also lost Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott to injury in the first half.
Ross Wallace put Wednesday ahead after 27 minutes and then teed up Lucas Joao for the hosts’ second goal shortly before half-time, with Sam Hutchinson completing victory early in the second period.
Wenger, who has never won the League Cup, had made eight changes to the team that beat Everton 2-1 on Saturday for the game, which was a repeat of the 1993 final.
Asked how his young fringe players had handled the occasion, he delivered a scathing assessment, telling Sky Sports: “It was too high for them. They are not ready to play at this level, none of them.”
On the injuries to Oxlade-Chamberlain and his replacement Walcott, both of whom limped off inside 18 minutes, he added: “We are short now because we lose Chamberlain today, we lose Walcott and we have already a few injuries.
“It is a big blow for us, of course to lose the game, but even more for the other competitions, which are very important for us, to lose two players of that stature.”
It was Wednesday’s second Premier League scalp in this season’s competition, following their third-round win at Newcastle United, and brought Arsenal’s run of four successive victories to an end.
“Everything belongs to the players. They were fantastic,” said Wednesday’s Portuguese manager Carlos Carvalhal.
“We put a plan together and they did it 100 percent.”
Elsewhere, second-tier Hull City defeated in-form Premier League side Leicester City 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, while Everton also needed penalties to beat Norwich City, 4-3, following another 1-1 draw.
source:tenplay.com.au
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 