Top London clubs crash out of Carabao Cup

Three of the Premier League’s biggest clubs in London dropped out of the Carabao Cup. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur all suffered defeat in the third round of the competition on Wednesday. The tournament is essentially the second-tiered knockout cup competition in England and Wales.

The Gunners entered their match with Brighton on Wednesday making 10 changes to their team that beat Chelsea at the weekend. Arsenal went up early against visiting Brighton at the Emirates Stadium. Reiss Nelson made a fantastic run and fed Eddie Nketiah going forward. The striker put his curling shot past the goalkeeper to make it 1-0 after just 20 minutes. However, this would be Arsenal’s last goal of the game.

Danny Welbeck converted a penalty past Karl Hein just seven minutes after the opening goal. Kaoru Mitoma and Tariq Lamptey added two more second half strikes for the visitors to put the game out of reach. The victory was the team’s third-consecutive win in all competitions.

North London clubs fall in Carabao Cup

Spurs traveled to Nottingham Forest in another matchup of Premier League teams. The visitors were second best for most of the match. While the game was 0-0 at the halftime break, defender Renan Lodi put Forest ahead early in the second half.

The hosts doubled their lead just seven minutes later after Jesse Lingard headed past Fraser Forster. It was Lingard’s first goal of the current campaign. Although Forest went down to ten men in the 76th minute, Spurs couldn’t find a way to create real opportunities going forward. The match ended with a 2-0 victory for the hosts.

chelsea stumble yet again

Chelsea undoubtedly had the toughest matchup of the trio. The west London club had to travel to face reigning Premier League champions Manchester City. City started on a front foot, but could not find the back of the net in the first half. Nevertheless, the talented team finally scored as Riyad Mahrez converted in the 53rd minute.

The champions doubled their lead just five minutes later thanks to a Julian Alvarez strike. Chelsea could not score despite putting 15 shots towards the City goal. The Blues have now lost three of their last four matches in all competitions.

Liverpool nearly joined the other big clubs from departing the Carabao Cup early. The Reds managed to squeak by Derby County on penalty kicks. Caoimhín Kelleher saved three of Derby’s penalties, with the final block coming against Everton loanee Lewis Dobbin.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Pro Sports Images