EFL Cup fourth-round review: What we learned

Tom Hancock analyses the latest round of matches in the EFL Cup.

United back among the goals

Man Utd 5-2 Leicester

With Ruud van Nistelrooy taking caretaker charge after Erik ten Hag’s departure on Monday, Manchester United have now had as many managers in the 11-and-a-half years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement as they did in the 68 years between the end of World War Two and then.

Media reports suggest United have their sights set on Sporting boss Ruben Amorim as Ten Hag’s successor, but Van Nistelrooy seems likely to be in the dugout for Sunday’s home Premier League encounter with Chelsea.

And the Old Trafford faithful might not mind that.

With a former Premier League Golden Boot winner at the helm, United produced a goal-laden display to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals for the fifth time in six years, finding the net as many times as they had in their previous six league outings.

Fernandes' goal v Leicester

Van Nistelrooy didn’t make any radical changes to the system, sticking to Ten Hag’s base 4-2-3-1 set-up and keeping the attacking midfield trio of Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho, but he squeezed plenty of goals out of a team that have been struggling to score them lately.

In the league this season, United have mustered just eight goals from an Expected Goals (xG) total of 14.8 – the sixth-highest in the division. Last night, they overperformed their xG substantially.

Evidently, there is still a certain defensive softness to United, but their problems were never going to be fixed overnight, and Van Nistelrooy has at least shown what might be possible for whoever is next to occupy the hottest of Premier League hotseats – which could yet be him.

See: Man Utd report

Confidence boost for Werner

Spurs 2-1 Man City

Timo Werner proved he has something to offer Spurs as his first goal of the season helped inflict Manchester City’s first defeat of 2024/25.

Having opted to start 17-year-old sensation Mikey Moore against Crystal Palace in the Premier League last time out, Ange Postecoglou restored Werner to the starting XI as he continued his quest to deliver the north Londoners’ first trophy since they won this competition 16 years ago.

And Postecoglou backed the German forward to find some form. “For him to score tonight and in an important moment of the game was great,” he said. “Hopefully that sort of helps him kick on.”

Werner's goal v Man City

It wasn’t an entirely positive night for Spurs, however. They’ll be assessing the fitness of Micky van de Ven, after their standout defender left the pitch clutching his hamstring in the first half.

Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, pledged to “play the second team” in this round of the EFL Cup, and he did – partially. The likes of Stefan Ortega, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly all came into the starting XI at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Despite the result, Guardiola must be glad that he didn’t risk more of his main men after seeing the impressive Savinho taken off on a stretcher – having lost Manuel Akanji in the warm-up and the centre-back’s replacement, Ruben Dias at half-time.

Ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to AFC Bournemouth, the champions have a long injury list which includes Rodri, who has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker.

See: Spurs report | City report

Szoboszlai impresses in new role

Brighton 2-3 Liverpool

Arne Slot threw something of a curveball as Liverpool faced Brighton & Hove Albion three days before the teams’ first Premier League meeting of the campaign, using Dominik Szoboszlai as a "false nine".

The Hungarian playmaker excelled in an unfamiliar role, keeping things ticking nicely as he completed 22 out of 23 passes before being substituted.

Five second-half changes for the hosts and four by the visitors changed the complexion of the tie and made for a thrilling final 10 minutes in which the Seagulls twice cut the Reds’ lead to a single goal, as both Slot and counterpart Fabian Hurzeler – going head-to-head for the first time – flexed the wealth of talent that could make Saturday’s Anfield encounter similarly exciting.

Highlights of Liverpool's win at Brighton

That match is one of 12 for Liverpool in the seven weeks between now and Christmas, and Slot will need to rotate well to maintain the eye-catching start he’s made to his tenure.

One man who is surely sniffing a chance to be more involved is Cody Gakpo, whose ultimately decisive brace on his sixth start of 2024/25 came as no surprise to his boss.

“He has been a good player for Liverpool for a long time now and that’s a good thing,” said Slot.

See: Brighton report | Liverpool report

History for Nwaneri

Preston 0-3 Arsenal

Arsenal’s routine triumph away to Championship side Preston North End saw history made and the end of an unwanted run.

In putting the Gunners 2-0 ahead in Lancashire, Ethan Nwaneri, at the age of 17 years and 223 days, became the youngest player to score on each of his first two starts for the club – having bagged a brace during the 5-1 thrashing of Bolton Wanderers in the previous round.

Nwaneri’s sublime left-footed effort from the edge of the box was set up by Gabriel Jesus, who had broken the deadlock with something of a momentous goal himself: it was the Brazilian’s first in 25 appearances, since the 2-1 Premier League win at Nottingham Forest on 30 January.

Highlights of Arsenal's win at Preston

Doing it against top-flight opposition is another matter, and Arsenal haven’t been short of goals this season, but this will have come as a welcome confidence boost to Jesus.

The Gunners return to league action with a trip to Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime, having kept their fourth clean sheet in six away matches in all competitions this season.

See: Arsenal report

Isak gives Chelsea the Blues

Newcastle 2-0 Chelsea

Alexander Isak made it two goals in two matches as Newcastle avenged Sunday’s league defeat by Chelsea by knocking them out of the EFL Cup.

It’s the first time Isak has found the net in consecutive outings since the end of last season, when he amassed a career best 25 goals in all competitions – including 21 in the Premier League.

Isak's goal v Chelsea

Eddie Howe highlighted following the recent home loss to Brighton how his side were creating chances but not finishing them and this little uptick in his star centre-forward’s form will please the Magpies boss, as he prepares for the visit of Arsenal on Saturday.

Enzo Maresca’s slightly experimental Chelsea team selection, which included starts for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall on the right and Renato Veiga in midfield, didn’t pay off, but the Italian was satisfied with how his team functioned.

“I think it [making 11 changes] worked if we analyse the performance,” he said. “If we analyse the result, then it didn’t work.”

See: Newcastle report | Chelsea report

Palace finding form

Aston Villa 1-2 Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace appear to have uncovered a semblance of form, beating Aston Villa to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season and further alleviate the pressure on Oliver Glasner.

In triumphing at Villa Park for only the fourth time in their history, Palace also did something they hadn’t managed since the final day of last season: score twice on the road.

That was against Wolverhampton Wanderers, who Glasner and Co face in another trip to the west Midlands on Saturday.

As for defeated Villa, it’s Spurs away next up in the Premier League. Will super-sub Jhon Duran finally make his first start of the campaign? Probably not – Ollie Watkins’ form remains such that he’ll take some dislodging – but the clinical Colombian striker extended his purple patch by making it three goals from three starts in all competitions this campaign.

See: Villa report | Palace report

Saints frustrated despite win

Southampton 3-2 Stoke City

At one point during the second half of their narrow win over Championship strugglers Stoke City, Southampton had a whopping 91 per cent possession.

Come full-time, that figure had dropped to 78 per cent, but the Saints’ ball-monopolising performance solidified what we already knew: Russell Martin has a philosophy and he’s going to stick to it.

Despite dominating possession so comprehensively, though, Southampton only scraped through, blowing a 2-0 lead before James Bree clinched it two minutes from time.

And the players didn’t seem in much mood to celebrate. “The guys were a bit annoyed and frustrated [after the game],” Martin said. “They didn’t look very happy, so I reminded them they’re allowed to smile.”

Bree's winner v Stoke

The Saints haven’t had much to smile about this season: they’re still searching for their first Premier League win, and it will take more than Guardiola-impressing possession stats to get it when they host resurgent Everton on Saturday.

See: Southampton report

Flekken sends Bees through

Brentford 1-1 Sheff Wed

Goalkeeper Mark Flekken was the hero as Brentford beat Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on penalties, but the Dutch shot-stopper knows he could have made it easier for his side.

Before making the crucial save of the shootout to deny The Owls' Liam Palmer, Flekken was at fault for the visitors’ equaliser.

Flekken's match-winning penalty save

In his haste to launch a quick counter-attack, Brentford’s No 1 rolled the ball straight to Djeidi Gassama, whose superbly hit 25-yard shot blew a previously one-sided encounter wide open.

“At the moment I caught the corner kick, I had so many possibilities, but I took the wrong one," said Flekken. “The mistake I made helped a lot to bring our mental side down. It took away the control we had. It went from a controlled game to an open game. I need to learn from that.”

Thomas Frank would no doubt love a controlled game when he takes his team to Craven Cottage for a west London derby against Fulham on Monday night, where victory could see Brentford climb as high as sixth in the Premier League.

See: Brentford report

EFL Cup quarter-final draw

For the first time since 2010, all four EFL Cup quarter-final ties will be contested by Premier League sides. 

Spurs v Man Utd
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Newcastle v Brentford
Southampton v Liverpool

These quarter-final ties will be played in the week commencing 16 December, after Matchweek 16 in the Premier League.