da dobrowin： Birmingham City caused the upset of Round 3 as they knocked out Capital One Cup holders Swansea City at St. Andrews on Wednesday night.
da bwin： But elsewhere it was business as usual for all the sides victorious in their respective ties. Round four is now dominated with Premier League sides, with Championship sides Birmingham, Burnley and Leicester all facing top-flight opposition in the next round.
Birmingham City 3-1 Swansea
The Capital One Cup holders Swansea made a shock exit at the hands of Championship Birmingham City at St. Andrews. Dan Burn, Matt Green and Tom Adeyemi netted second-half goals for the hosts before Wilfried Bony’s injury-time consolation.
Michael Laudrup made 10 changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace at the weekend and saw his side completely out-played in the second-half as a result.
But Laudrup completely defended that decision after the game. He said: “I have no regrets. You could say 10 changes from the last game but five of the players who played here were in the starting XI against Valencia.
Birmingham boss Lee Clark said: “I am absolutely delighted. I think to win a game like that against the quality of opposition we’re up against is very satisfying.”
Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool
Javier Hernandez’s early second-half goal was enough to ruin Luis Suarez’s return to action after a 10-match suspension.
Suarez made a positive return to the Liverpool starting XI but spurned several chances to hit the ground running with a much needed goal for the visitors, while Daniel Sturridge went close on occasions.
United boss David Moyes was understandably delighted to put the loss to City last weekend. He said: “I thought it was a really good game. We had to bounce back and I thought it was a really good result tonight.”
Brendan Rodgers said of Hernandez’s goal: It is disappointing. It’s an individual thing, it is not collective. If you look at the corner, no one was free and the Chicharito gets free far too easily.”
Newcastle United 2-0 Leeds United
Papiss Cisse’s first Newcastle goal in 12 games helped the Magpies confirm their spot in round four of the Capital One Cup.
Leeds came close to the opener in the opening five minutes when Ross McCormack’s chip hit the woodwork, but Cisse’s opener and Yoan Gouffran’s second-half finish were enough to clinch a comfortable victory, despite Leeds having a penalty call turned down at 1-0.
Magpies boss Alan Pardew expressed his relief at Cisse’s goal: “He has had a few good chances in these last few games, but that was an important goal. How important, we will have to wait and see.”
Brian McDermott was not pleased with the penalty decision: “Matt Smith was bundled over in the penalty area and I think because he is a big lad the ref didn’t give it. It was a certain penalty, there’s no doubt about that.”
Tranmere Rovers 0-2 Stoke City
Stephen Ireland’s 23rd minute opener on his full debut helped Stoke City set up a trip round four trip to Birmingham.
The Potters played some neat football that once alien to them under former boss Tony Pulis, and Peter Crouch’s injury-time goal wrapped up proceedings at Prenton Park.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes said after the win: “I was really pleased with how we went about our business. Our level of performance at the moment is really high.”
Rovers boss Ronnie Moore was pleased with his side’s performance, despite crashing out of the competition: “It was gut wrenching they scored a second in the last minute, but overall I was pleased with the way we defended.”
West Brom 1-1 Arsenal (Arsenal win 4-3 on penalties)
Arsenal needed a nervy penalty shoot-out to see off West Brom and set-up a tasty home-tie against London rivals Chelsea in round four.
Nicklas Bendtner set-up Thomas Eisfeld on the hour, but Saido Berahino headed the equaliser just ten minutes later.
Craig Dawson and Morgan Amalfitano both missed spot-kicks in the shoot-out, paving the way for Nacho Monreal to score the deciding kick.
Arsene Wenger said: “I am proud. We played with many young players and they showed they are not only good footballers but that they can fight as well.”
Sponsored by Capital One. The Credit Card that Supports the Supporters.
For exclusive content, competitions and more visit: Facebook.com/CapitalOneUK
For Capital One Credit Cards visit: www.capitalone.co.uk