For so much of the season, the Carabao Cup is disdainfully treated as little more than an inconvenience. Yet, once the semifinals tick into view and a trip to Wembley lies just 90 minutes away, the importance of England’s secondary cup competition sky rockets.
Getting that first piece of silverware sets the tone for the months to follow. There’s a reason why trophy-laden managers like Bob Paisley, Brian Clough, José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola put so much stock into this particular three-handled pot of silver.
