Does lighting strike three times?
Well it does on Merseyside. In a stunning night of EFL Cup action Liverpool lost 3-0 at home to Crystal Palace, the third time they’d been beaten by the Eagles in three months.
Elsewhere on Wednesday there were wins for Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United while, on Tuesday, there was a battle royal in Wales.
But Anfield was the place to be…though only if you are from South London!
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace pitched together two teams that have become quite familiar in recent times; the Eagles had beaten the Reds in the Premier League and the Community Shield. And, in a devastating five minutes at the end of the first half of this clash, Palace put the Reds to the sword again, as Ismaila Sarr scored a quick-fire double. Staring a sixth defeat in seven games, Arne Slot had to listen to jocular Palace fans singing: “sacked in the morning” as his players trudged down the tunnel.
Matters didn’t get any better for Slot as he watched his young defender Amaro Nallo sent off and Yeremy Pino made it 3-0 to put the icing on the cake.
Arsenal overcame a dangerous Brighton side with a 2-0 win. 18-year-old winger Ethan Nwaneri broke the deadlock in the first half and, while the Seagulls had plenty of chances to get back into the game, substitute Bukayo Saka doubled the lead minutes after he had climbed off the bench.
In what should have been the most one-sided match on Wednesday, according to SBOTOP odds, Goncalo Franco gave Swansea a shock early lead against Manchester City and it took until the 39th minute for Jeremy Doku to equalise. The Sky Blues dominated possession and probed away at a stubborn Swans defence and finally went ahead, on 79 minutes when Omar Marmoush took a pass from Rayan Cherki and smashed an unstoppable shot high into the corner of the net from a tight angle. It was a moment of genius which was worthy of a win, which was confirmed when Cherki made it 3-1.
The EFL Cup 2025 betting odds reckon Manchester City is the team to beat, but with plenty of big guns still in, it’s a wide-open competition.
Wolves, bottom of the Premier League are having a wretched time of it and they were blown away in a disastrous first half as Chelsea’s young guns ran riot. Andrey Santos scored after just five minutes, Tyrique George doubled the lead and Brazilian wonderkid Estevao made it three with a cheeky chip on the cusp of half-time as Molineux erupted in a chorus of boos. Tolu Arokodare gave Wolves a lifeline just after the break and, with 15 minutes to play, wing-back David Wolfe remarkably made it 3-2. And when Chelsea’s Liam Delap was red carded on 86 minutes the home fans wondered if a great escape was on the cards.
They did get their third goal when Wolfe scored again on 91, but only after Jamie Gittens had scored again for the Blues. 4-3 to Chelsea.
Defending champions Newcastle United hosted Tottenham Hotspur and saw off the Londoners 2-0. The Magpies took a half-time lead when Fabian Schar headed in a Sandro Tonali corner and, minutes into the second half, the EFL Cup lovers were two up as Nick Woltemade continued his great run of form, heading home a chip from Joe Willock.
Cardiff win the Welsh Derby
Bragging rights in Wales went to Cardiff City on Tuesday night as the League One side overcame the ambitious Wrexham. The two clubs swapped leagues last year as the Bluebirds dropped from the second tier and passed the promoted Robins on the way. But Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham are finding out just how hard life is in the Championship while Cardiff are up in third place in the League One table. And Brian Barry-Murphy’s side are in the Carabao Cup quarter finals after coming out on the right side of a 2-1 result.
In the first meeting since 2004, the Bluebirds have been in the higher leagues while Wrexham dropped to non-league football, goals from Yousef Salech and Will Fish, two of 23 shots from Cardiff, won the game, Kieffer Moore scoring for Wrexham.
In other EFL Cup 2025 news Fulham survived a scare against League One side Wycombe Wanderers, drawing 1-1 before winning the tie on penalties. And fellow West Londoners Brentford are also in the hat after they hammered Grimsby Town, the giant-killers who felled Manchester United. 3-0 up at half time the Bees ran out 5-0 winners as their EFL journey goes on in impressive style.
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