LONDON — English heavyweights Manchester City and Liverpool managed to avoid each other in the draw for the English League Cup quarterfinals Wednesday.
Liverpool will visit Southampton after Jurgen Klopp claimed his first victory as manager with a 1-0 success over Bournemouth, while City will host second-tier Hull City after thrashing Crystal Palace 5-1.
City and Liverpool are now the front-runners in the competition after holder Chelsea and Arsenal were eliminated Tuesday and Manchester United lost on penalties to Championship side Middlesbrough Wednesday.
Second-tier Sheffield Wednesday’s reward for beating Arsenal 3-0 is a quarterfinal trip to Stoke City. Middlesbrough faces a home game with Everton.
Middlesbrough was clinical in the shootout as host United faltered with Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young all failing to convert from the spot at Old Trafford.
Footage from the fixture showed a green light appearing on Rooney’s face as he prepared to take his kick in the penalty shootout.
The FA said Thursday it was aware of reports of the incident and was looking into the matter.
Goals have been a priceless commodity for Liverpool this season and it was another nervy night as it scored in the first half through Nathaniel Clyne but could not add to its tally and was forced to hang on for the win.
“My first win feels better than a draw,” a smiling Klopp told Sky Sports. “We were dominant and got the win we deserved.”
Goals are rarely in short supply at the Etihad Stadium and City was ruthless as it brushed aside Palace with efforts from Wilfried Bony, Kevin de Bruyne, Kelechi Iheanacho, Yaya Toure (penalty) and Manu Garcia.
There was more woe for managerless Aston Villa which lost 2-1 at Southampton. Maya Yoshida and Graziano Pelle put the host two goals up before Scott Sinclair netted a late consolation from the penalty spot.
Villanovense holds Barca
A Barcelona side missing rested top players struggled to a 0-0 draw against third-tier Villanovense in the first leg of its King’s Cup last 32 tie Wednesday.
The Cup holder left several big names including Neymar and Luis Suarez at home and produced few chances on a difficult pitch against a charged up Villanovense, which was backed by a vociferous 10,000-strong home crowd.
Barca will be confident of finishing off the tie in the second leg at the Camp Nou on Dec 2.
The team from the small town of Villanueva de la Serena in the west of Spain defended resolutely, intending to pounce on the counter against a Barca side that found it difficult to play its usual passing game. — Agencies
