It was a crucial week in the League Cup. We would ordinarily have known the identity of both our finalists by now, but covid played spoilsport in the Liverpool-Arsenal tie. Nevertheless we do have one finalist- Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, and they could potentially be joined by another Nike team in the form of Liverpool next week if Jurgen Klopp’s men are able to see off Adidas outfitted Arsenal.
Spurs (Nike) 0-1 Chelsea (Nike) CFC won 3-0 on aggregate
The all-Nike, all-London semi-final clash went the way of Chelsea, who booked their spot in the final with a 1-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With Spurs trailing 2-0 from the first leg, they needed to strike early, but it was Chelsea who had the first big chance, with Romelu Lukaku brilliantly denied by Lilywhites goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini. However the Italian wasn’t as convincing enough when he stepped out to claim an 18th minute corner, and Antonio Rudiger took advantage to nod home and put the visitors 3-0 up on aggregrate.
Spurs nearly equalised from a corner of their own, but Harry Kane was unable to get to Davinson Sanchez’s flicked on header at the far post. The home side were awarded two penalties in the game by referee Andre Marriner for fouls by Rudiger and Kepa respectively, but both were reversed after VAR intervened. Kane eventually found the back of the net but even that goal was disallowed by VAR for offside.
Chelsea were strong favourites for the title when the season began, but have fallen off in recent times. At the beginning of December, the Blues were league leaders and were a point ahead of City, but as it stands, the gap between Pep Guardiola’s side and them in the league is already a whopping 13 points- too much to make up in the eyes of both pundits and fans, and it increasingly looks like Tuchel’s men will be better served focusing on the Cups and the UCL in their quest for silverware this season. They’re already into the League Cup final and have a relatively easy draw in the UCL Round of 16 in the form of Lille.
Liverpool (Nike) 0-0 Arsenal (Adidas)
It’s Arsenal who stand in the way of an all-Nike final (three of the four teams in the semis are Nike outfitted), and the Gunners did a fine job of it in the first leg at Anfield, holding Jurgen Klopp’s Reds to a goalless stalemate despite playing nearly three quarters of the game with ten men following the dismissal of medio Granit Xhaka.
Liverpool’s attack looked significantly less menacing in the absence of Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, both of whom have left for the Africa Cup of Nations. Despite the best efforts of Jota, Minamino and co, the Reds couldn’t find a way past Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal and had to settle for a 0-0 draw.
The presence of Covid also meant that Liverpool, who would’ve otherwise hosted the second leg, have relinquished that right to Arsenal. And that might just aid the Gunners next week.
If Liverpool progress, not only would it be an all-Nike final, but it would also mean a final between two German gaffers!
Somewhat oddly, Arsenal chose to play in their third kit at Anfield, which made the game a bit of a tough watch for colour-blind folks. In the corresponding league fixture, the Gunners were in their away kit, but opted for the darker third one here.
