David Moyes made up for his bold call to bring on Mark Noble to take the last-minute spot-kick against Manchester United at the weekend by guiding West Ham to a narrow victory against his old side at Old Trafford to eliminate them from the Carabao Cup, courtesy of an early Manuel Lanzini strike.
The Hammers had a bright start in Manchester as they took the game to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side in the early stages, capitalising on their bright start with a goal in the opening stages. United looked threatening as the game went on, constantly forcing West Ham’s defence to defend deep but there was a significant lack of quality in front of goal.
Andriy Yarmolenko could’ve sealed the game for the away side late on after rounding Dean Henderson, but the Ukrainian’s effort could only find the near post before Noble was played through one-on-one, looking destined to make amends for his penalty miss on Sunday, but his effort was gathered comfortably by Henderson – denying us a true poetic moment in the beautiful game. Those chances didn't have any effect on the final result though and Solskjaer's side will be left licking their wounds as another chance to end his trophy drought slips through their fingers.
In the evening’s earlier kick-off, Brighton continued their bright start to the season with a comfortable victory over Championship side Swansea City at the Amex Stadium. Republic of Ireland striker Aaron Connolly scored a brace for the Seagulls as they anticipate their heated clash with Crystal Palace on Monday night. The forward will be pleased with his tally from the game as he looks to break into the Brighton side in the Premier League.
Former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo came back to face his old side for the second time at Molineux this season looking to make amends for his Tottenham Hotspur side’s flat performance against Chelsea at the weekend. They will have been boosted by their star striker Harry Kane finally getting the mark which will build his confidence ahead of this weekend’s North London derby against Arsenal on Sunday. Bruno Lage’s side responded brilliantly and didn’t let their heads drop from going two goals down and managed to draw level with a side who are currently going through a rough patch, which ultimately have come from Kane being out of form. The game was taken to penalties and it was Spurs who progressed after winning the shootout 3-2.
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As for Mikel Arteta’s side they also got another win under their belt as they defeated AFC Wimbledon at the Emirates Stadium with Alexandre Lacazette scoring from the penalty spot. The victory was capped off by strikes from Emile Smith-Rowe and Eddie Nketiah, which will provide the Gunners a huge boost for their clash against Spurs.
South of the River Thames, Ademola Lookman opened his Leicester City account before Kelechi Iheanacho struck late as Brendan Rodgers earned a hard-fought victory over Gary Rowett’s Millwall to progress into the next round. Over in west London, Chelsea entertained Aston Villa, hoping to record a second consecutive home win, also against the West Midlands club. They took the lead through the confidence-lacking Timo Werner. The German squandered a great chance to double the Blues’ lead before Villa struck back through youngster Cameron Archer, adding another goal to the hat-trick he scored against Tranmere Rovers in the last round. The tie also had to be settled by a penalty shootout which Chelsea triumphed 4-3 to book their place in the last 16.
The third round has had its fair share of shocks and exciting moments to keep the magic of the cup alive, and here is hoping that the next round provides just as much entertainment.
