EFL Cup quarter-finals: What we learned from Wednesday's ties

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

Jesus nets first Arsenal hat-trick

Arsenal 3-2 Crystal Palace

Gabriel Jesus ended a 367-day home goalscoring drought by hitting his first Arsenal hat-trick as the Gunners recovered from 1-0 down to come out on top in their first of two meetings with Crystal Palace in four days.

Mikel Arteta opted for an entirely different front three to that which started the 0-0 Premier League draw with Everton at Emirates Stadium last time out – and while it proved to be another frustrating outing for Raheem Sterling, who missed a decent chance at 0-1, it was anything but for Jesus.

Arsenal’s No 9 turned the tie on its head with three goals in 27 second-half minutes, as well as registering five shots on target for the first time in almost six years.

Arsenal v Crystal Palace highlights

"He has a quality, a way of creating and generating situations that is quite unique. Gabi at that level is a big asset for us," Arteta said.

The Brazilian benefited from some transformative substitutions by Arteta, who introduced Martin Odegaard at half-time and Bukayo Saka once the Gunners had drawn level on 54 minutes. Odegaard went on to set up Jesus’s first and third goals, with Saka providing the assist for his second.

Arsenal’s inability to get a grip on the match with the personnel who started, which included Kieran Tierney making his first Gunners start since May 2023, may have slightly disappointed their manager. However, Jesus’s resurgence might just earn him a spot in the side for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Selhurst Park.

Palace will no doubt be out to avenge this narrow defeat, though, and boss Oliver Glasner can take encouragement from the way they exploited Arsenal’s man-marking to open the scoring early on through Jean-Philipe Mateta, who pressured Jakub Kiwior into completely misreading Dean Henderson’s long goal-kick.

"It was the perfect start but already in the first half we played with too much respect," said Glasner. "We needed a performance at our top level and it was not [that]."

See: Arsenal report | Crystal Palace report

Tonali shows he can offer goal threat

Newcastle 3-1 Brentford

Since his return, Sandro Tonali has been showing Newcastle United what they were missing during his 10-month ban for breaching betting rules, and the Italian midfielder exhibited another dimension to his game in the Magpies’ 3-1 win over Brentford.

While not renowned for his exploits in front of goal, having only netted seven times in 95 appearances for AC Milan and once in his first 22 Newcastle outings, Tonali’s first-half brace ought to be a positive for a team with a relatively low tally of league goals this season (23 in 16 matches).

And these were no tap-ins either: the 24-year-old broke the deadlock with a beautifully struck low drive from 20 yards, before making it 2-0 with a precise volley from Anthony Gordon’s outswinging corner.

Tonali's goal v Brentford

Quite possibly in an effort to gather some momentum off the back of Saturday’s 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Leicester City – Newcastle’s first win in five matches– Eddie Howe named the same starting XI for this tie, and it paid off, setting his team up nicely for Saturday’s trip to Ipswich Town.

The visitors could only notch a stoppage-time consolation through Yoane Wissa, although Thomas Frank’s changes did include rotating top scorer Bryan Mbeumo out of the starting line-up.

Mbeumo was lively after coming off the bench and squared for Wissa’s goal, and he’ll be needed to help unlock a tight Nottingham Forest defence at home in the Premier League on Saturday.

Victory was all the more special as Newcastle fan Steven Hunter, who has terminal cancer, was invited to meet Howe after a press conference and it was his wish that Tonali started against Brentford, as per BBC News.

See: Newcastle report | Brentford report

Liverpool extend away run

Southampton 1-2 Liverpool

Liverpool remain unbeaten on the road in all competitions under Arne Slot, as a much-changed Reds side, which featured a full debut for 17-year-old midfielder Trey Nyoni, saw off managerless Southampton 2-1 at St. Mary’s.

The EFL Cup holders made it 12 away matches without defeat since Slot, who was serving a one-match touchline ban, succeeded Jurgen Klopp in the summer. Darwin Nunez set Liverpool on their way with his first away goal in England since March and Harvey Elliott’s first strike of the season ultimately proved to be the winner.

Southampton v Liverpool highlights

Southampton, whose caretaker boss Simon Rusk named just about as strong a starting line-up as he could, gave fans something to cheer about when Cameron Archer’s emphatic curler got his side back in it midway through the second half.

Saints have now conceded 44 goals in all competitions this season at an average of 2.2 per match, keeping only clean sheet; next up, it’s a trip to Fulham on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Premier League leaders Liverpool will travel to Tottenham Hotspur, bidding to maintain their record of scoring in every away outing in 2024/25.

See: Southampton report | Liverpool report

EFL Cup quarter-finals

Wednesday 18 December

Arsenal 3-2 Crystal Palace
Newcastle 3-1 Brentford
Southampton 1-2 Liverpool

Thursday 19 December

Spurs v Man Utd

When is the semi-final draw?

The draw for the semi-finals will be held after the Spurs v Man Utd match this evening (Thursday).

The two legs of each tie will be played in the weeks commencing 6 January and 3 February. The final is due to be played at Wembley on 16 March 2025.