EFL Cup semi-final draw
Match report
The draw!
Manchester United v Hull City
Southampton v Liverpool
United and Saints will be at home in the first leg, to be played the week commencing January 9. Hull and Liverpool get their turn to host the week commencing January 23. A replay of the 1986/87 semi-final between Saints and Liverpool, then. United will be favourites for the trophy right now: it’s been a good evening for them!
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FULL TIME: Manchester United 4-1 West Ham United
And that’s the final kick of a comprehensive victory for Manchester United. The scoreline didn’t flatter them: in fact, it probably should have been more. But after repeatedly failing to finish teams off in the Premier League, they’ll take this. And they reach their 14th League Cup semi-final! They go into the hat with Southampton, who won tonight at Arsenal, plus Hull City and Liverpool. The draw’s coming up in a minute or two. Don’t go anywhere!
GOAL! Manchester United 4-1 West Ham United (Ibrahimovic 90+3)
Herrera busies himself down the inside-left channel, beating three men and pulling the ball into the centre. In the middle, on the edge of the six-yard box, Ibrahimovic. He can’t miss, and ends the game as he started it!
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90 min +2: West Ham have come alive, but it’s far too late. Kouyate reaches the by-line down the right and cuts back from Feghouli, who should get his shot from 12 yards on target, but blasts crazily over the bar instead.
90 min +1: There will be three added minutes. Rashford comes on for Mkhitaryan. Then Feghouli finds a bit of space down the right and has a wild slash from the edge of the box. Nope.
90 min: Smiles all round back there, but Schweinsteiger gets serious, as he looks for the top right corner from 30 yards. Nowhere near, but hearty applause nonetheless.
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89 min: Schweinsteiger touches the ball. Off comes the roof. Everyone enjoying themselves.
88 min: Fernandes has a lash from 25 yards, out on the right. The ball’s deflected off Jones, and out for a corner. It leads to nothing. Southampton beat Arsenal 2-0, by the way.
86 min: The biggest roar of the evening, as two-goal hero Anthony Martial is replaced by Bastian Schweinsteiger. The German legend is a popular man around these parts, it would seem. What a warm welcome on his first appearance of the season!
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84 min: Zaza wins a corner of Rojo. That’s a nice sentence to say out loud. People like to say salsa. The set piece, coming in from the left, should be met by Zaza, six yards out. But he only succeeds in heading thin air. A chance to launch an unlikely comeback spurned.
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81 min: A brilliant effort by Ibrahimovic. On the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, he nutmegs Feghouli and curls one towards the bottom right, all in one sweet move. Adrian tips away from danger. “As a Liverpool fan I’m encouraged by West Ham’s defending but a little dispirited at Man United’s attacking verve,” writes Niall Mullen. “Aren’t they supposed to be a beaten docket?” As a rule, it’s best not to write off Manchester United. Imagine what people were saying during the Herbert Bamlett era, for example, and look what happened in the four decades after that.
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79 min: Mkhitaryan has a dig from distance. The ball balloons off a West Ham defender and out for a corner on the right. Before Rooney takes it, he has a little argument with the linesman, over nothing it would seem. He’s in that sort of mood tonight. It’s almost as though he’s better when he’s close to boiling over. Anyway, the resulting set piece is a waste of time.
76 min: As Rooney is repaired, Zaza comes on for Payet, who has been strangely quiet tonight. Apart from the shot that led to West Ham’s goal, of course, but you get the general point.
74 min: Manchester United press West Ham back. Ibrahimovic and Rooney acting as proper pests, buzzing hither and yon, causing all sorts of trouble. Rooney takes a whack in the face from Reid. Totally accidental, but blood’s been drawn. The referee stops play. Rooney is livid. Does he want a penalty? Is he cross that the pressure’s been relieved? Either way, he nearly talks his way into a second yellow, before running to the sidelines to mop up the red.
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72 min: Old Trafford falls a bit quiet during a midfield lull. The general mood suggests this is all over.
70 min: Kouyate earns a corner out on the right. Reid tries to connect with the set piece, ten yards out, but not for the first time tonight, a West Ham cross evades a team-mate’s noggin by inches.
68 min: Manchester United look confident and in control right now. Which, in fairness, they did at this point in the first half, before West Ham went on to level. But the visitors don’t look like they’ve got a dramatic two-goal comeback in them. Their passes aren’t sticking to feet.
66 min: West Ham look visibly deflated. On the touchline, Slaven Bilic has his hands thrust deep into his pockets, in the ‘Miffed’ style.
64 min: This is the sort of scoreline Manchester United deserved to take out of the first half. Only now do they have it. West Ham try to respond immediately, winning a corner down the left. But Payet, whose dead-ball efforts haven’t been so good tonight, can’t beat the first man.
GOAL! Manchester United 3-1 West Ham United (Martial 62)
The semi-finals beckon for Manchester Ujnited! Herrera, in the centre of the park on the right, passes inside for Ibrahimovic, who slide-rules a fine ball down the inside-right channel. Valencia strides into the box, and rolls across for Martial, who can’t miss from eight yards. He cracks it with purpose past Adrian, and Old Trafford erupts!
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61 min: Rooney and Mkhitaryan triangulate nicely down the middle. Rooney then tries to flick Martial clear down the left channel, but overcooks the pass and runs into Reid. He’s awarded a slightly generous free kick though. Perhaps the referee feels guilty about that booking. Anyway, Ibrahimovic hits a hard daisycutter of a free kick towards the bottom left, curling it around the wall. That’s a clever effort, though it doesn’t fox Adrian, who handles a hot potato well on the line.
58 min: Antonio has tweaked his groin, and is replaced by Lanzini. West Ham are having no luck with injuries at this ground, having lost Sakho the other day.
56 min: Ibrahimovic and Rooney combine well down the middle, a couple of crisp passes, and suddenly the ball’s slid towards Martial, who breaks into the area down the inside-left channel. He looks for the right-hand side of the net, but Adrian parries well. Martial was probably an inch or two offside there, but give the attacker the benefit, and all that. Anyway, no harm done.
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55 min: Space for Masuaka down the left. He curls low and hard into the Manchester United area. Jones should easily clear, but takes a fresh-air waft instead. The ball works its way through to Feghouli at the far post, but from a tight angle all the West Ham man can do is fall over. Goal kick. But for all their dominance, Manchester United don’t look completely composed at the back.
53 min: Free kick for Manchester United out on the right. They load the box. Rooney flays a ludicrous effort high towards the Stretford End. Too much of the old Wonderfuel Gas in that. And it’s a bad couple of minutes for the home captain, who clatters into Fernandes and picks up a booking that’ll rule him out of the upcoming visit to, of all places, Everton. He is livid. There wasn’t much in that challenge, but he needs to calm down.
51 min: Antonio hoicks a long ball down the right and backs himself to beat Blind. He does that, but Rojo comes across to slide the danger into touch in spectacular style. That’s a very enjoyable no-nonsense tackle.
50 min: Slaven Bilic has a face on. And no wonder.
GOAL! Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United (Martial 48)
A thoughtful first couple of minutes to the half. And then suddenly Payet shanks a clearance up the left. The ball’s headed back down the flank towards Valencia, who backheels neatly to release Mkhitaryan into the box. Mkhitaryan isn’t chased by Payet. He draws a couple of men, then rolls a pass inside for Martial, who opens up his body and sidefoots a blooter into the top left! So much for Manchester United’s mental block at Old Trafford! But that was very sloppy by West Ham, who haven’t really come out to play again yet.
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45 min 05 sec: Kouyate rolls a lame pass back to Adrian, nearly allowing Ibrahomovic to start this half like he did the first. But he can’t quite get to the ball before the keeper. Kouyate has the good grace to hold his hand up and apologise. The hosts made one change at half-time, incidentally. Shaw, injured we hear, is replaced by Blind.
And we’re off again! This is going to be a fascinating second half, because you have to wonder whether Manchester United are developing a mental block at Old Trafford. Recent matches have seen them incapable of polishing off Stoke, Burnley and Arsenal when thoroughly dominant. They won’t want to add this League Cup quarter-final to that list. West Ham will be hoping a trend of their own continues, though: they were very good in the second half here on Sunday, and will fancy their chances if they put on another display like that. Like we were saying, in terms of narrative story, it’s perfectly poised. West Ham get the party re-started.
Half-time reading:
HALF TIME: Manchester United 1-1 West Ham United
That half flew by, and it ends with a scoreline that doesn’t reflect the balance of play. Manchester United were utterly dominant until David de Gea’s error. But the teams go in level. The home side will take succour from the manner in which they’ve played for the bulk of that half; the visitors from the way they held on and fought their way back into the tie. It’s poised perfectly. Another entertaining half of football, please!
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45 min: Cresswell can’t continue. He’s withdrawn in favour of Masuaku.
44 min: Manchester United look collectively frustrated, which is hardly surprising given their dominance before the equaliser. Rooney clips Kouayte’s ankle, then Shaw argues needlessly over a throw in the midfield. The volume levels have dropped around the stadium, too, apart from one corner, where the Great West Ham Songbook is being flicked through with gusto.
42 min: Cresswell is down, and doesn’t look very happy. The West Ham physio doing a lot of tugging and tweaking to his right leg. But he’s going to battle on to half time. Maybe.
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40 min: Payet doesn’t do his thing very well. Manchester United clear with ease.
39 min: Now it’s West Ham who have their tails up. They ping it around down the left, causing Valencia to lose his patience. He nips Cresswell’s heels, and is booked for the trouble. A chance for West Ham to load the box, and for Payet to do his thing.
37 min: Rooney chips forward for Martial down the left, and a corner’s earned off Adrian, who had to come well wide of his goal to make an emergency interception. The set piece is cleared. West Ham race up the other end through Cresswell down the left. His looping cross skims off the top of Fletcher’s head, the striker ten yards out and free. A few inches lower, and the hosts were in a bit of trouble there.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-1 West Ham United (Fletcher 35)
West Ham haven’t been in this game at all, but now look! Payet advances on the Manchester United area down the inside-left channel. He drops a shoulder inside, and lashes a low shot towards de Gea. The keeper should gather, but he fumbles the ball, and Fletcher, sniffing around, pokes into the bottom left!
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34 min: Shaw strips the ball off Antonio down the Manchester United left, and races upfield. He slips the ball inside for Martial, who in turn feeds Rooney, who dinks a straight one down the middle for Ibrahimovic. The striker enters the box, but Reid steps in front of him and guides the ball back to Adrian.
32 min: Rooney’s done so much work, he deserves a shot of his own. Ibrahimovic tees him up on the edge of the box. His snapped effort is easily blocked. He’ll not be equalling Bobby Charlton’s record quite yet.
30 min: Antonio presents Ibrahimovic with the ball in the centre circle, an awful shank of a pass. West Ham don’t bother to close down, or attempt to tackle, Ibrahimovic as he makes towards their box. Eventually the striker shoots. It’s blocked right. Mkhitaryan fires an immediate low pass out to Martial, in space in the left-hand portion of the area. The resulting shot, an attempted thread into the bottom right, is easily gathered by Adrian.
29 min: Now Rooney bustles down the right wing, and whip-cracks a cross to the near post. Martial can’t quite get his head on it. At the moment, a second goal for the hosts seems like a matter of time, nothing more. West Ham are struggling to break Manchester United’s rhythm.
27 min: Payet has taken a nasty knee in the thigh from Ibrahimovic. It was totally accidental, as the pair tried to control an awkwardly bouncing ball. A dead leg, nothing more. Looks like he’ll be up and about in a minute.
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25 min: Ryan Bertrand has made it 2-0 to Southampton at Ashburton Grove. As things stand, the semi-finalists are Manchester United, Southampton, Hull City and Liverpool. A long way to go this evening before the first two secure their places, of course.
23 min: Mkhitaryan is looking sharp, too. Martial romps down the left and feeds him the ball. Mkhitaryan lays back for the in-rushing Herrera, who pearls one towards the top right from the edge of the area. The shot hits poor Ogbonna straight in the coupon. West Ham survive again. Manchester United are playing some fine stuff tonight, in the old-fashioned attacking style.
22 min: Rooney is everywhere at the moment. He fizzes a low pass down the left wing, but neither Shaw nor Mkhitaryan read it. West Ham looked a bit light at the back there. If only somebody had taken a gamble.
20 min: A bit of space for a very lively looking Rooney down the left. He checks back before whipping a fine cross towards Ibrahimovic at the far post. The big Swede is outbattled by Ogbonna, and doesn’t really leap for the ball. Manchester United are creating chances.
18 min: And yet West Ham were very nearly level! Payet takes a free kick from a deep position on the left. It’s an inch or two away from dropping onto the head of Reid, eight yards from goal. But a pair of home eyebrows manage to flick the ball away. An inch or two higher, and that was a very good opportunity indeed. Martial races off up the other end and scores three rugby points from a very ambitious distance. This is a cracking match.
16 min: The free kick. Rooney whips a fine curler towards the top right. It’s fingertipped away by Adrian, and the resulting corner comes to naught. Manchester United could easily be three goals up here.
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15 min: Another quick break from a corner. This time it’s Manchester United zipping upfield from a piss-poor West Ham set piece. Martial makes off down the left, and he’s crudely blocked by Obiang right on the edge of the box. Just a free kick and a booking, though I’d like to see that again. Martial could have been right on the white line. But no penalty’s given.
13 min: Corner for Manchester United down the right. Noel’s delivery isn’t all that. West Ham tear clear on the break. Feghouli races into a lot of space. He’s got Fletcher clear on his right, with only Rojo in front of him. But he inexplicably faffs around, thinking about a selfish shot, and is eventually stripped of possession.
11 min: Incidentally, Wayne Rooney, who can equal Bobby Charlton’s all-time club scoring record of 249 tonight with a single goal, is sporting a full beard, but tidily trimmed, as opposed to the full hipster. Shades of Noel Edmonds. It’s a statement look.
9 min: Payet and Antonio try to get something going down the West Ham right, but none of their passes are sticking. Martial threatens to bust down the left on the counter. He’s upended, but from the free kick Shaw zips into space along the same wing, and crosses dangerously. Reid hacks high into the air, a very strange attempt at a clearance. Adrian catches, just about stopping the ball from going out for a corner. This is the best Manchester United have played all season. It’s high-paced stuff, and very dangerous.
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7 min: That start has really shaken West Ham. They’re all over the place. Rooney again drops deep, and this time rolls a fine pass down the middle to set Ibrahimovic striding towards the box. Mkhitaryan pulls Reid out of the middle with a run to Ibrahimovic’s right. Ibrahimovic is clear in the area! He looks to place another in the bottom left, but is denied this time by a fine save from Adrian. He shoots again: another save! Martial tries to get involved, coming in from the left, but he can’t connect with a loose ball. Adrian eventually snaffles.
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4 min: What a start! For a second, it looked like Mkhitaryan picked up an injury while making that sublime assist. But he’s OK. Also, Adrian appeared to follow through quite unpleasantly on Ibrahimovic as he was beaten. Studs up, he crumped into the striker’s shin. Everyone’s OK, though. Southampton are a goal up at Arsenal, by the way: Jordy Claise the scorer on 13 minutes. It’s all happening, to steal Danny Boon’s catchphrase.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United (Ibrahimovic 2)
This is a gorgeous goal. And so, so simple. Rooney, his back to goal by the centre circle, plays a lovely reverse pass down the inside-left channel. Mkhitaryan races onto the ball, and backheels a first-time ball into Ibrahimovic, who is clear in the centre! He draws Adrian, and calmly flicks a low shot into the bottom left. That was a magnificent team goal.
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And we’re off! United get the ball rolling. Ibrahimovic and Rooney try to link up down the inside-right channel. Rooney sniffs around, and very nearly gets on the end of a pass in the area, Adrian taking an age to come off his line. But the keeper snaffles.
But first, a minute’s silence for the Chapecoense air tragedy. Sir Bobby Charlton looking solemn in the stand; a thought, no doubt, for absent friends. A poignant moment, perfectly respected.
The teams are out! It’s a cold, icy night in Manchester. Old Trafford warms itself up by giving it plenty as the players take to the field. Manchester United are in their famous red, white and black get-up, while West Ham change into their white and powder-blue second strip. This is the one, according to Ian, John, Mani and Reni. We’ll be off in a minute!
And now it’s Slaven Bilic’s turn. “I am confident, and confidence is basically what you need if you want to progress. This is a very difficult opponent, and we need to put in a strong performance. [Manchester United academy graduate] Ashley Fletcher has done well since he joined us. We are using him a lot and he makes an impact. He did well here on Sunday. No pressure on him, but he can chase things down, run the channels, and hopefully score a goal.” Aye, no pressure.
Jose Mourinho, banned from the dugout tonight, speaks. “It is not the same to be on the touchline, or not to be, obviously. But I have given everything to prepare the team in the training sessions. The rules allow me to be in touch with my colleagues on the touchline, and to be in the dressing room before and after the match. So I think I can do the job to try to help them. We change five players from the last match, but they have the same objective. When you smell a two-leg semi-final, you put out a good team.”
Five changes to the Manchester United team which started the 1-1 draw against tonight’s opponents at this very venue, just three days ago. The suspended Paul Pogba sits it out, while Darmian, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford lose their places. Into the starting XI: Luke Shaw, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Michael Carrick, Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney.
West Ham also make five swaps. In come Adrian, Winston Reid, Sofiane Feghouli, Ashley Fletcher and Edimilson Fernandes. They take the starting berths of Darren Randolph, Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble, James Collins and Diafra Sakho.
Tonight's teams
Manchester United: de Gea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Shaw, Herrera, Carrick, Mkhitaryan, Rooney, Martial, Ibrahimovic.
Subs: Mata, Lingard, Blind, Rashford, Romero, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger.
West Ham United: Adrian, Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna, Antonio, Fernandes, Obiang, Cresswell, Feghouli, Fletcher, Payet.
Subs: Randolph, Nordtveit, Lanzini, Zaza, Noble, Collins, Masuaku.
Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire).
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Preamble
Manchester United are supposedly going through a crisis right now. They’re off the pace in the Premier League; they’ve won just seven of their last 17 matches; their manager keeps getting himself sent off and will watch from the stands tonight as a result; the club’s world-record £89m midfielder Paul Pogba is suspended.
Plenty of clubs dream of a crisis like United’s. Spin it another way. United won a major trophy just six months ago; it wouldn’t take much for their strangely goal-shy team to suddenly click and start converting all these chances; they’re only four wins off the top of the League and three games away from another Wembley visit; and while Pogba may be missing tonight, Ander Herrera isn’t, and he’s not the sort to take any difficult situation lying down. “It’s positive that we are playing on Wednesday, when we can get revenge,” he said in the wake of Sunday’s disappointing 1-1 Premier League draw with tonight’s opponents. “It doesn’t matter the competition, it doesn’t matter the game, we just want to win. We want to fight for everything and we want to make our fans proud.”
West Ham are working their way through a little crisis of their own. Much was expected of them after last season’s impressive showing, but they suffered a cold start to the season that saw them crash out of Europe and flail around in the Premier League relegation places. The situation is still far from perfect - just two points from the last 12 on offer in the League - but they’ve clambered out of the drop zone, while here they are, one good performance away from a League Cup semi-final.
You’d get plenty of clubs taking that sort of crisis, too. On another day, West Ham could have left Old Trafford with a win last Sunday; Hammers boss Slaven Bilic is hoping his team can go one better tonight, and register a result that could shape an entire season. “It would give us a lot of confidence if we could win the game and we will be doing everything to do that,” he says. “If we change a few players like United will, it doesn’t mean we are going there just to play a game. To reach the semis is a big thing and we are just a couple of games from the final.”
Manchester United will take succour from their League Cup record at Old Trafford. They’ve lost just one of their last 24 ties against Premier League opposition here, a 2-1 defeat in the 2004/05 semis to a late Damian Duff goal for a Chelsea team managed by ... yes. West Ham meanwhile will take heart from the last time these clubs met in this competition, when they won 4-0 at Upton Park in the 2010/11 quarter finals, a brace apiece for Jonathan Spector (!) and Carlton Cole (!). It’s set up perfectly. It could be a cracker. It’s on!
Kick off: 8pm GMT.
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