The Reds defeated Southampton (2-1) and Arsenal defeated Crystal Palace (3-2) to qualify for the last four.
Liverpool, the defending champion, worked hard on Wednesday against Southampton (2-1) to reach the last four of the League Cup, like Arsenal who needed a hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus against Crystal Palace (3 -2). Newcastle, on the other hand, made life much easier, at home against Brentford (3-1), with a double from Sandro Tonali even before half-time.
The first three qualifiers will know their next opponent on Thursday after the last quarter-final between Tottenham and Manchester United. At the top of the Premier League and the Champions League, Liverpool extended their almost perfect start to the season on the lawn of Southampton, despite the honorable resistance of the red lantern in the championship.
The “Saints” had a difficult weekend, between the scathing 5-0 defeat against Tottenham and the dismissal of Russell Martin, their coach. And their Wednesday evening got off to a bad start. A full half hour after kick-off, Liverpool led 2-0 thanks to striker Darwin Nunez (24th, 1-0), who had only scored once in his last eleven matches, and to the formerly injured Harvey Elliott (32nd, 2-0), starter for the first time this season. Southampton did not give up, however, and their tenacity was rewarded by Cameron Archer (59th, 2-1). Until the end, the promoted player made the “Reds” doubt, without however managing to create the feat.
Jesus, Christmas before its time
Another Premier League cador, Arsenal started their quarter on the wrong foot against Crystal Palace at the Emirates, where Mikel Arteta had fielded a team mixing regular starters and substitutes. Defender Jakub Kiwior, a member of the second category, missed a long clearance from Dean Henderson, the Palace goalkeeper, and Jean-Philippe Mateta coolly exploited the error (4th, 0-1).
The “Gunners” dominated the rest of the match, as evidenced by their 70% possession of the ball, but they long struggled to turn this control into an advantage. It took an improbable hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, the “hat-trick hero” as the Emirates announcer called him, to turn the game around.
The one who had only scored once, this season equalized with a subtle dive (54th, 1-1), before showing off his finishing qualities on offerings from Bukayo Saka (73rd, 2-1) and Martin Odegaard (81st, 3-1), both entered during the match. Eddie Nketiah, who moved from Arsenal to Palace this summer, stretched the suspense with his header (85th, 3-2), without managing to spoil the party for his former supporters. There was no suspense at St James’ Park: Newcastle led 3-0 until the end of regulation time, before giving in to Yoane Wissa (90th+1, 3-1).
