Chelsea claimed partial revenge for their stormy loss to Manchester United at the weekend by prevailing 5-4 when the teams resumed hostilities in an end-to-end fourth-round League Cup tie on Wednesday.
United led three times at Stamford Bridge, but each time Chelsea responded, with Eden Hazard’s 94th-minute penalty taking the game to extra time before goals from Daniel Sturridge and Ramires put the hosts in the quarter-finals.
There were shocks in the night’s other ties, as Swansea City won 3-1 at Liverpool to knock former manager Brendan Rodgers out and Norwich City came from behind to eliminate Tottenham Hotspur.
Photo: AFP
United’s controversial 3-2 win in the Premier League on Sunday ended with claims that referee Mark Clattenburg had abused Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi, but Wednesday’s game was a gripping contest more in line with Arsenal’s astonishing 7-5 win at Reading the night before.
United made 10 changes to the side that won on Sunday, but they went ahead in the 22nd minute when Anderson robbed the dallying Oriol Romeu on the edge of the box and Ryan Giggs coolly shaped a shot past Petr Cech.
The lead last only 11 minutes, David Luiz scoring from the penalty spot, but more defensive sloppiness from the home side allowed the visitors to restore their lead just before halftime.
Photo: AFP
Luiz lost the ball after one of his trademark romps up the pitch and when Anderson fed Javier Hernandez, the Mexican held his nerve to beat Cech and claim his sixth goal in nine games against Chelsea.
Gary Cahill replied with a 52nd-minute header, but United soon moved ahead again, as Nani exchanged passes with Anderson, skipped past Luiz and then delicately lofted the ball over Cech.
Chelsea were aggrieved that referee Lee Mason declined to award a penalty after an apparent handball by Michael Keane, but redemption arrived with the last kick of normal time.
Keane’s center-back partner, Scott Wootton, was penalized for blundering into the back of Ramires, and Hazard belied the pressure of the situation to roll a cocksure penalty down the center of the goal.
Wootton, 21, was also at fault for Chelsea’s fourth goal, miscuing an attempted back header and then watching on in horror as Sturridge rounded Anders Lindegaard before tucking the ball home.
Ramires made the game safe four minutes from the end, collecting Hazard’s pass, rounding Lindegaard and slipping the ball into the net, before Giggs scored from the spot to take the goal tally to nine.
Liverpool’s season encountered fresh disappointment at Anfield as they were outplayed by Swansea, who reached the last eight for the first time.
Chico, Nathan Dyer and Jonathan de Guzman found the net for the Swans, with Luis Suarez on target for Rodgers’ side.
Meanwhile, a quick-fire pair of goals in the last six minutes saw Norwich come from behind to win 2-1 against Tottenham.
Gareth Bale fired home from outside the box to give Spurs the lead in the 66th minute, but Jan Vertonghen’s 84th-minute own goal leveled the scores.
Simeon Jackson put Norwich in front three minutes later, slamming home after Hugo Lloris saved from Grant Holt and the Spurs’ misery was complete moments later when Clint Dempsey’s penalty was saved by Norwich goalkeeper Mark Bunn.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set