By Charlie Oxotby (Sports Aficionado the-sports-buff.com)
The first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals were played on Tuesday and Wednesday as Wembley Stadium draws closer to the finale.
Reigning champions Newcastle United faced Manchester City at St James Park, while a London derby took place at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Arsenal.
Last year, only The Magpies and The Gunners had made it to the final four as both The Blues and The Sky Blues were knocked out in the fourth round.
All the semi-finalists had recently played their FA Cup third-round ties, progressing to the next stage of the competition.
Starting with Tuesday night’s game, Man City prevailed in enemy territory with a 2-0 win against Newcastle.
After a quiet first half, City newcomer Antoine Semenyo picked up his second consecutive goal for the club in the 53rd minute to break the deadlock.
The former Bournemouth player thought he bagged a brace after scoring again 10 minutes later, but VAR ruled the goal out for offside, something which Pep Guardiola was really unhappy about.
Nevertheless, the travelling team extended their lead at the last kick of the game as a well-worked goal saw Rayan Cherki poach the ball in, giving Man City a 2-0 aggregate lead into the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
On Wednesday night, Arsenal just managed to hold on against Chelsea to win 3-2 in what was a more exciting game in West London.
Ben White opened the scoring inside seven minutes after converting his header from Declan Rice’s corner.
Early in the second half, Robert Sanchez’s mistake led to an easy finish for Viktor Gyokeres to make it 2-0, however, super sub Alejandro Garnacho brought Liam Rosenior’s side back into the game in the 57th minute.
Martin Zubimendi increased Arsenal’s lead with 20 minutes left to play, but once again, Garnacho gave Chelsea a glimmer of hope with a half-volley to give The Blues a better chance against Arsenal at the Emirates.
The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈 
Leave a comment