Tonight’s quarter-final reports are in. Enjoy, enjoy! Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
Brendan Rodgers speaks to Sky. “Congratulations to Newcastle. I think they deserved to win the game. My players worked very hard, there was lots of endeavour, but we lacked quality with the ball. We gave the ball away very cheaply and took too many touches. We don’t have any arguments. Two soft goals as well. Overall, Newcastle were better. There’s still a big second part of the season for us. We want to push for the top ten, and the FA Cup is special. We have a history in it now having won it a couple of years ago.”
Eddie Howe talks to Sky. “The lads were highly motivated tonight. We knew the importance of the game. I’m really pleased with their performance. They don’t stop. Right to the end we were trying to push.”
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Post-match reaction to come. In the meantime, Louise Taylor’s verdict has landed, and here it is!
The 2022-23 League Cup semi-finalists.
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest or Wolverhampton Wanderers
Southampton or Manchester City
The semis will be played over two legs, on the weeks commencing 23 January and 30 January. The Wembley final will be played on Sunday 26 February.
FULL TIME: Manchester United 3-0 Charlton Athletic. Marcus Rashford scores his second on the stroke of full time, and Manchester United join Newcastle United in the velvet bag for tomorrow’s semi-final draw.
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St James’ Park erupts as one! Newcastle have reached only their second League Cup semi, 47 years after beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 on aggregate to reach the 1976 final. They lost to Manchester City at Wembley that year, thanks to Dennis Tueart’s outrageous overhead kick. A chance for revenge in this year’s semis or final, maybe, should City get past Southampton tomorrow evening?
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FULL TIME: Newcastle United 2-0 Leicester City
Newcastle have made it to their first domestic semi-final since 2005! Not a bad way to rebound from the shock FA Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, huh?
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90 min +4: Guimaraes, who has been named man of the match, bashes a low shot-cum-cross through the Leicester six-yard box from the right. A third wouldn’t flatter Newcastle at all.
90 min +3: Manchester United will also make it through to the semi-finals. The in-form Marcus Rashford has sealed the deal for the home side at Old Trafford on 90 minutes. Manchester United 2-0 Charlton Athletic.
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90 min +2: Tielemans chests down a right-wing cross and swivels, but his shot easily clears the bar. Newcastle so close to the semis now.
90 min: Murphy comes on for Willock. Then Isak nearly latches onto a long hoof down the middle, but Ward steams out of his area to high-kick clear. There will be five bonus minutes.
88 min: … but it’s too long. Leicester survive, play it out from the back, and draw a foul from Guimaraes.
87 min: Ward isn’t so convincing from the resulting corner, Saint-Maximin swinging long from the right, the keeper flapping. A third corner in succession, coming in from the left again …
86 min: Isak drives at Castagne down the left wing, bamboozling his opponent into the concession of a corner. Trippier curls it long. It’s heading towards the top right. Ward fingertips away to stop it going straight in.
84 min: Willock strides in from the left and sends a low shot across Ward and wide right. Before Leicester can restart the game, Almiron makes way for Saint-Maximin, while Perez is replaced by Mendy.
83 min: A speculative ball down the middle for Isak, who can’t get to it ahead of the out-rushing Ward.
82 min: The free kick’s looped into the Newcastle box. Botman heads behind under pressure from Faes. St James’ Park falls silent. The tension palpable, with Newcastle so close to the semis. A roar of relief as the corner is cleared.
81 min: Botman goes into the book for a cynical block on an in-flight Perez. A free kick for Leicester out on the right.
80 min: Leicester probe on the edge of the Newcastle box. Guimaraes is having none of it, and makes an intervention that cleans out both Barnes and the referee! The crowd are highly amused. One of the cheers of the evening, and given the atmosphere, that’s saying something.
79 min: Isak comes on for Wilson.
78 min: Tielemans takes an accidental elbow on the chin from Guimaraes. After some running repairs, he’s good to continue.
77 min: Albrighton swings a free kick into the mixer from the right. Trippier eventually bashes clear, but all of a sudden Newcastle and their fans seem painfully aware of what they’ve now got to lose. The tension crackles.
75 min: Vardy nearly scores again! Perez pings a long pass down the inside-left channel to release Vardy into space. He enters the box and whistles a low drive across Pope … and inches wide of the right-hand post! This is absurd. Since going two down, Leicester have had two huge chances in the following three minutes. If nothing else, it’s a sign that this isn’t over quite yet.
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74 min: It doesn’t look like it’s going to be Leicester’s night. Perez takes down a long pass on the right flank. He rolls infield for Vardy, who is free on the penalty spot! He must score! But he pulls his shot wide left with only Pope to beat. That would have changed the mood in St James’ Park all right.
GOAL! Newcastle United 2-0 Leicester City (Joelinton 72)
A throw comes in in from the Newcastle right. Almiron takes up possession and drives infield, then slips a diagonal ball towards Joelinton, steaming in from the left. Joelinton takes a touch, and a stride, then whistles a forensic shot across Ward and into the bottom right. Newcastle within touching distance of the semi-finals!
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70 min: … Willock crosses from the right. Wilson goes up for a header at the far stick. He’s shoved in the back as he jumps, and claims for a penalty. The referee’s not interested. Had VAR been in operation tonight, that could well have been a penalty. But no matter, because Newcastle come again, and …
69 min: Longstaff and Trippier combine down the right, the latter eventually winning a corner off Faes. From which …
68 min: A bit of space for Albrighton on the right. He nearly finds Perez on the edge of the Newcastle box with a low diagonal pass, but Pope is quickly out to claim and smother.
67 min: Wilson spins into space down the middle and is cynically hauled back by Ndidi. The Leicester midfielder had no real option but to take one for the team, as Wilson had options either side and the visitors were extremely light at the back.
66 min: Newcastle have scored first on 11 occasions this season. They’ve gone on to win ten times. It’s fair to say Leicester are up against it.
65 min: Leicester send on the cavalry. On come Vardy and Iheanacho, replacing Daka and Thomas.
64 min: “If Messi had scored that goal, we’d consider it fairly routine,” writes Kári Tulinius. “But this was Dan Burns! Dan Burns scored that goal!” Fair to say it took the roof off St James’ Park. It’s currently coptering over Berwick-upon-Tweed.
62 min: More knockabout entertainment for Newcastle fans as their former player Perez goes into the book for repeated fouling. His latest transgression was a late lunge on Longstaff.
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-0 Leicester City (Burn 60)
Leicester can’t escape the Newcastle press. Willock nicks the ball off Castagne near the left-hand corner flag. Willock rolls it back to Joelinton, who lays off to Burn. The big defender sashays into the box, holding off three men, and steers a shot across Ward and into the bottom right. The local lad scores his first goal for the club he loves!
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58 min: Willock slips Burns into space down the left. Burns whips a cross infield. Castagne sticks out a leg and nearly slices the ball past Ward. He breathes out again as the ball sails over the bar. Trippier comes over to the left to take Newcastle’s eighth corner of the match so far. Faes clears.
56 min: Newcastle pour forward again, smelling blood. Trippier crosses low from the right. Faes sticks out a boot to elegantly backflick away from danger. Leicester are hanging on a bit here.
54 min: Wilson works hard down the left and cuts back for Longstaff, whose pearler towards the top left is turned around the post by Ward. Nothing comes of the resulting corner, which was taken by Trippier – who looks to have run off any problem.
53 min: From the resulting free kick, sent into the Leicester box by Trippier from the left, Burn heads harmlessly over. He was aiming for the top left, an uncontested header, but timed his leap all wrong.
52 min: Guimaraes and Perez tangle in the midfield. Perez accidentally stands on his opponent’s knee as the pair fall. There was no malicious intent, but that’s a sore one for the Brazilian midfielder, and he needs a moment to recover.
51 min: From the resulting corner, Newcastle hearts are in mouths momentarily as Albrighton shanks a right-wing cross that nearly loops weirdly over Pope and into the top left. The ball clears the bar – just – and settles on the top of the net.
50 min: Barnes dances in from the left and shapes to shoot. He can’t get anything away, and the ball breaks to Tielemans, whose shot is deflected high and wide by Schar.
49 min: Longstaff creams a diagonal pass towards Almiron on the right. Thomas has been caught out of position on a couple of occasions today, but here he times his step up to perfection and catches Almiron offside.
48 min: Relief for the Toon as Trippier gets back up onto his feet. He’ll continue … for now, though he’s wearing a frown and touching the back of his right leg gingerly.
47 min: Trippier goes down of his own accord and requires some attention from the physio.
46 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner. Leicester were caught cold again, though.
45 min 20 sec: Newcastle fly out of the traps again! Joelinton is sent scampering down the left into acres. He drops a shoulder to get past Castagne and hits a low shot that pings off Albrighton, Ward and the base of the left-hand post!
Newcastle get the second half underway. No changes!
Leicester’s first-half xG: 0.07. Newcastle with a slightly less eye-opening figure of 1.26. But the teams remain level, and here we are.
HALF TIME: Manchester United 1-0 Charlton Athletic. In tonight’s other quarter final, United lead at the break thanks to Antony’s delightful 21st-minute curler.
HALF TIME: Newcastle United 0-0 Leicester City
A reminder that if the teams can’t be separated after 90 minutes, we’ll be heading to penalty kicks.
45 min: Guimaraes’s shot towards the bottom right is turned around the post by Ward. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
43 min: Wilson’s cute shimmy in the centre circle sparks a Newcastle break. He feeds Longstaff down the right. Longstaff rolls a pass towards Almiron, who knocks the ball past Thomas, the Leicester full-back sliding in impetuously. Almiron enters the box and shapes a shot towards the top right. An easy parry for Ward in the end, but that was a lovely move.
42 min: Willock has the chance to release Almiron down the right but wildly overhits his through ball. Ward claims on the edge of his box.
41 min: Guimaraes wedges a delicate pass down the right to release Almiron into the Leicester box. Almiron can’t control, however, and runs the ball out of play under pressure from Ndidi. Goal kick.
40 min: Leicester have done a magnificent job in the last few minutes. On the rack for a while, they’ve grown into the game and have really dampened the mood among the home faithful.
38 min: Almiron’s clueless crossfield pass is intercepted by Albrighton, who knocks the ball past Burn and takes on the defender in a footrace down the right. Burn sticks out an arm to flatten his opponent, and he goes into the book as well.
36 min: Willock probes down the left and wins a Newcastle corner off Castagne. The set piece leads to a preposterous game of head tennis in the Leicester box. Newcastle can’t power any of their headers goalwards. When the ball finally drops to ground, Schar can’t get a shot away either. Leicester attempt to break through Daka, who is upended by Longstaff. The Newcastle midfielder becomes the first player to go into the referee’s notebook.
35 min: Albrighton swings it in from the right. The ball drops towards Ndidi, who should plant a header goalwards from eight yards, but misses the ball altogether.
34 min: One corner leads to another.
33 min: Leicester are finally asking one or two questions. Barnes nearly gets on the end of a speculative long ball down the left, but Pope comes to the edge of his box to hack clear. Leicester come again, Tielemans shooting from distance, the ball looping off a Newcastle player and out for a corner.
32 min: Tripper, quarterbacking from the right-back position, Alexander-Arnolds a sensational crossfield ball towards Wilson on the left. Just a little bit too much weight on the pass, which flies out for a goal kick. A touch less, and Wilson was clear and in. The pair acknowledge each other with a thumbs up.
30 min: Castagne strides down the right and feeds Daka infield. Daka strides into the box and should shoot – he’s not faced with a particularly tight angle – but attempts to roll across towards Barnes for a tap-in. He gets the pass all wrong and Botman is on point to intercept and clear. Very poor from Daka, who should have worked Pope at the very least, and probably should have scored.
28 min: Faes pointlessly comes clattering through the back of Wilson, 30 yards from his own goal. A chance for Newcastle to line up on the edge of the Leicester box. The free kick comes in from Trippier, down the inside-left channel. Burn challenges on the corner of the six-yard box but it’s easy meat for Ward.
27 min: … but the fact they’ve not conceded yet has quietened St James’ Park a little bit. In that sense, task one is complete for the away side.
25 min: A long throw down the left flank nearly releases Wilson. Simple as that. Amartey does well to come across and put a stop to the Toon gallop. Leicester’s defenders are having to put in quite a shift here.
23 min: There’s been a goal in the other game. Antony has opened the scoring at Old Trafford with a curler into the top left from the right-hand edge of the D. Fine goal. Manchester United 1-0 Charlton Athletic.
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22 min: Longstaff, Almiron and Trippier combine crisply down the right wing. Trippier crosses. The ball bagatelles off Guimaraes and Longstaff and into the grateful arms of Ward.
20 min: The resulting corner clangs off Schar and the pressure on Leicester is momentarily released.
19 min: Yep, they’re getting closer all right. Castagne brings down Wilson on the left. The resulting free kick causes bedlam in the Leicester box, and breaks to Longstaff, whose shot towards the bottom left is turned around the post by Ward.
17 min: Willock makes another good run down the left but can’t find anyone in the centre with his cross. Newcastle aren’t quite in only-matter-of-time territory yet, but they’re getting closer.
15 min: Willock makes good down the left and slips a pass infield. Joelinton tees up the incoming Guimaraes, who fizzes a low drive inches wide of the left-hand post. Less needless power, more precision, and that was a goal.
14 min: Tielemans spins and strides into a little space down the inside right. He shuttles the ball forward to Perez, who pearls a shot straight into Pope’s midriff. Leicester finally show in attack.
13 min: Newcastle look dangerous every time they stream forward. Almiron should release Trippier into acres down the right, but his pass is a tad weak, forcing the full back to check his run. The chance to shoot or send in a cross is gone.
11 min: Daka attempts to counter down the left wing and threads a pass infield for Tielemans, who loses possession on the edge of the Newcastle box. Pope eventually claims the ball.
9 min: Perez, once of Newcastle, receives the ball and also a blast of pantomime abuse. Then he loses control of the former, conceding a foul in the centre circle that earns more of the latter. Guimaraes pumps it long, and Almiron forces another corner. Nothing comes of the set piece, but this is a fine start by the Toon.
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7 min: Almiron tears down the right and cuts back for Wilson, who can’t force home from six yards. The ball clanks out for a corner, from which Joelinton heads harmlessly wide right. Leicester are all over the shop here. Newcastle rampant.
6 min: That was such a great chance for Longstaff. Replays show him scuffing the shot into the ground, wide and high. It doesn’t get any better with repeated viewing.
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4 min: Time for Leicester to catch a breath as Schar goes down for 60 seconds, having taken a whack upside the head from Daka. Totally accidental, and the defender doesn’t require treatment, just a moment to gather himself and get up again.
3 min: Now Guimaraes flashes a drive wide left from 20 yards. Under no pressure to shoot, he should have hit the target at the very least. Leicester need to get their gamefaces on and quick.
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2 min: What a move! What a miss! What a start that could have been. A reminder that Leicester started awfully slowly at the King Power last month, two down after seven minutes, the match gone in the blink of an eye.
Leicester kick off … and Newcastle should be leading after 43 seconds! Almiron drives down the middle and feeds Willock into the box on the left. Willock pulls back from the byline. Longstaff hares in from the other wing, opens his body and … sidefoots wide right and high from eight yards.
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The teams are out! Newcastle wear their famous black and white stripes, while Leicester sport first-choice blue. There’s a rare old atmosphere at this famous old stadium, but then you knew that’d be the case anyway. We’ll be off in a few minutes! “If the Newcastle defensive line consists of four stellar interlocking players, could they be billed as the Saudi Quattro?” wonders Peter Oh. Vorsprung durch sanften Humor.
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Brendan Rodgers speaks to Sky. “Tonight is our sixth quarter-final together as a group. We’ve gained good experiences. It’ll be a top game tonight and we’ll fight to do everything we can to get to the semi-finals. To clubs like ourselves, club competitions are vitally important. We have to treat them with respect and go as far as we can. It’s absolutely vital to start strongly. To make that start [on Boxing Day, when they were 2-0 down at home to Newcastle within seven minutes] cost us the game, so tonight we have to stay strong and concentrate. The mentality has to be right. If we can do that, and play our football, it gives us an opportunity to win.”
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There’s another League Cup quarter final being played tonight. Manchester United welcome Charlton Athletic to Old Trafford and will be hot favourites to make it through to the last four. Goal updates when we have them. United take to the field tonight buoyed by the knowledge that attacking reinforcements are on their way in the shape of Dutch striker Wout Weghorst. Cue a few launch-it jokes, Weghorst a towering figure at 6ft 6in, but as world champions Argentina can attest, the big man can be a lot more subtle than he’s given credit for.
Eddie Howe talks to Sky Sports. “It’s a special night for us, an opportunity to progress into a semi-final. A very difficult game, but we’re expecting a really good match. These are the games we want, the pressure that comes with it we will relish and enjoy. The power of the supporters here is huge. We try to play a style of football they enjoy watching, and that they will back, and make the difference. We need the crowd as a powerful force to help us. We will try to use [the Wednesday defeat] to learn from and power us on.”
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Newcastle United make eight changes to the starting XI in the wake of the Wednesday fiasco. Joelinton, Sean Longstaff and Sven Botman are the only players to keep their spots.
Leicester also make eight changes after their altogether more pleasant FA Cup trip to Gillingham. Only Marc Albrighton, Youri Tielemans and Ayoze Perez keep their place.
The teams
⚫️ HOWAY NEWCASTLE! ⚪️#NEWLEI pic.twitter.com/615Agnmr4d
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 10, 2023
Our #CarabaoCup starters on Tyneside 📝 🏆#NEWLEI pic.twitter.com/29BbFnU9a3
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 10, 2023
Preamble
Can Newcastle bounce back from their shock FA Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday? Can Leicester rebound from the 0-3 thrashing Newcastle inflicted on them on Boxing Day? We’ll find out tonight, with a place in the semi-final of the League Cup up for grabs. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
