The Football Faithful
·31 October 2024
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Yahoo sportsThe Football Faithful
·31 October 2024
Five players who impressed in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup this week, including an emerging Arsenal talent and a Liverpool forward who loves this competition.
Ethan Nwaneri is taking the chances that arrive at Arsenal this season with the 17-year-old again a standout as the Gunners progressed into the quarter-finals. After scoring his first goals for the North Londoners in round three, Nwaneri was on target again in the club’s convincing 3-0 win at Preston on Wednesday.
It was a special goal from a special talent, as Nwaneri curled an unstoppable effort into the top corner from outside the area. He might be raw, but the teenager is fast making a claim for more regular involvement in Mikel Arteta’s team.
In the absence of Martin Odegaard, could Nwaneri offer some spark into the Arsenal midfield? If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
Cody Gakpo just loves playing in the League Cup. The Dutchman extended his record to eight goals in eight career appearances in this competition after scoring a brace at Brighton in round four.
The experiment of Gakpo as a centre-forward appears over with the 25-year-old outstanding from the left wing. His first was beauty as he cut inside to fire an unstoppable finish into the far corner, before flashing a second past Jason Steele who could not react to the power of the strike.
With Luis Diaz also in superb form this season, Arne Slot has a welcome selection headache.
Casemiro rolled back the years with a magnificent midfield performance as Manchester United thrashed Leicester 5-2 at Old Trafford. The Brazilian has had his critics over the last 18 months but was full of class against the Foxes.
He opened the scoring with a spectacular strike into the top corner from distance and added a second after half-time to make it three goals in two games. Alongside an improved Manuel Ugarte, the Red Devils had the midfield presence that has been lacking for much of the campaign to date.
His best performance in a Newcastle shirt. Lloyd Kelly has had a mixed start to his time on Tyneside but the summer recruit looked much improved during the win over Chelsea.
A switch to a centre-back role brought out the best in Kelly, who made goal-saving blocks in each half and threw his body on the line for the cause. His pace was a welcome addition to the defence after replacing Dan Burn and this is a performance to build upon.
The drought is over! Timo Werner sent Spurs on their way to a 2-1 win over Manchester City with an emphatic finish that defied his recent struggles in front of goal. Werner’s time in English football has been littered with wastefulness, a contrast to the form he showed during an exciting emergence at RB Leipzig.
The German sent a message to his doubters with a fine first-time finish to open the scoring in North London and was involved in the second as Spurs inflicted the first defeat of the season on Pep Guardiola’s side. His pace is always a problem for defences and he will be frustrated not to have added a second after bursting clear after the break.
However, the 28-year-old will want to take confidence from this as he looks to earn a permanent move to Spurs and regain his place in the Germany setup.