Chelsea’s bane sends them packing: The EFL Cup fourth round action you might have missed

The fourth round of the 2024-25 EFL Cup saw some big names fall.

Football is coming thick and fast in England, and this week saw the resumption of the EFL Cup. It was a round largely dominated by Premier League sides, with Preston, Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday the only clubs outside the top flight still in the competition.

Those three sides all lost this week, but they were joined in exiting the tournament by a few big names.

The bulk of the EFL Cup fourth round action came on Wednesday with six ties in total, across three different kick-off slots. So, what went down?

Cody Gakpo performs his party trick

Name a better love story than Cody Gakpo and the EFL Cup. We’ll wait.

Gakpo has had an interesting start to life at Liverpool, never really nailing down a starting spot in their Premier League starting XI. But in the EFL Cup he has really shone.

Last season the Dutchman scored in each of his first four games in the EFL Cup, from the third round to the first leg of the semi-final. Although he failed to score in his next two matches, Gakpo did get a winners medal as Liverpool beat Chelsea in the final.

This season it’s been more of the same. Gakpo scored two in the third round as Liverpool beat West Ham United 5-1. And on Wednesday he netted twice as Liverpool knocked out another Premier League side in Brighton. That’s now eight goals in eight games in the EFL Cup for Gakpo.

Alexander Isak makes Chelsea pay again

Chelsea must be getting sick of the sight of Alexander Isak. The Swedish striker scored against the Blues at the weekend, though Chelsea still managed to beat Newcastle United 2-1.

On Wednesday Isak opened the scoring and this time he was on the winning side, with Newcastle beating Chelsea 2-0 at St James’ Park. Isak has now scored four goals in his past four games against Chelsea across all competitions.

The Swedish striker failed to score in his first appearance against the Blues, but netted home and away in the league last season before doing the double this week. Isak has only scored more goals in his career against Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham (both five).

Eberechi Eze loves the EFL Cup

Crystal Palace are through to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup since 2011-12, when they reached the semi-finals. The Eagles beat fellow Premier League side Aston Villa at Villa Park, with Eberechi Eze getting them underway.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise either. The Englishman has loved playing in the EFL Cup this season, scoring in all three of his appearances in the competiiton.

Eze scored the fourth in Palace’s 4-0 win over Norwich City in the second round, before netting the winner in a 2-1 victory against Queen’s Park Rangers in their next game. The Englishman did go off injured, but Palace will hope to have him ready to fire in the quarter-finals.

Jhon Duran, super starter?

Jhon Duran is known for being a super sub, coming off the bench to score five goals across all competitions this season alone. But it turns out he isn’t too bad when he’s starting games either.

The young Colombian has started three games for Aston Villa across all competitions this season. And he’s scored in every one. Two of those starts have come in the EFL Cup, including Wednesday’s fourth round tie against Crystal Palace.

Duran got the equaliser for Villa, but he couldn’t prevent them from eventually falling to a 2-1 defeat. It’s the first time this season that Villa haven’t won a game in which Duran has scored.

Ethan Nwaneri enjoying cup run

Arsenal were comfortable in their 3-0 win over Preston, able to hand valuable minutes to some of their fringe players without hurting their chances.

Looking to impress as part of the Arsenal midfield was youngster Ethan Nwaneri, who has stormed clear as their brightest youngster. And he made the most of his moment.

In fact, he’s now made the most of his moment twice in the EFL Cup this season. Nwaneri started his first ever game for Arsenal in the third round against Bolton, scoring twice in the comfortable win. He then scored Arsenal’s second in their 3-0 win over Preston, putting the Gunners in firm control.

Aged 17 years and 223 days, Nwaneri is the youngest player to score in each of his first two starts for Arsenal.

Bruno Fernandes’ wait is over

There must have been a point in time that Bruno Fernandes feared he would never score again. The Manchester United captain has been struggling for goals this season, failing to score in his first 13 games across all competitions.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying either. Fernandes is Man United’s second-highest shot taker across all competitions this season, beaten only by Alejandro Garnacho. Thirty-six shots came and went for Fernandes without scoring, only six of which hit the target.

But 37 proved to be the magic number. It came from a free-kick against Leicester City, with some fortune due to a deflection. But it was Fernandes’ goal and the floodgates may have been opened, with the midfielder adding a second after half-time.

Perfect record for Ruud

Talk about your new manager bounces. Life after Erik ten Hag couldn’t have got off to a better start for Man United. They had a potentially tricky match against fellow Premier League side Leicester.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was the man in the dugout, given the job on a caretaker role. But when Ten Hag’s departure was first announced, Van Nistelrooy was the bookies’ early favourite to get the Man United job full time.

That didn’t last too long, though, with Ruben Amorim now heavy favourite amid reports that Sporting CP believe the deal is done. So rather than an audition, it looks like this was a one-off experience. And Van Nistelrooy can always point to his 100% record as Man United manager.

Timo Werner ends long wait

Bruno Fernandes wasn’t the only man to see a long wait ended. Timo Werner finally scored! The German hasn’t really enjoyed his time in London so far, whether that’s at Chelsea or Tottenham.

He had bright bursts when he first joined Tottenham on loan in January, which was enough to persuade them to extend his stay in the summer. But his struggles in front of goal continued.

The German failed to score in his final six games in the league last season, despite scoring four of them. This season, Werner’s game time has been limited but there have been opportunities. He played 74 minutes against Coventry City in the third round of the EFL Cup, and has 129 minutes in the Europa League.

But Werner still couldn’t score, stretching his drought to 17 games. In his 18th appearance, it took Werner just five minutes to find the net against Manchester City. It was the type of goal you’d expect from Werner at his best, a cool first-time finish to cap off a swift counter-attack.

We then saw a typical Werner game, with a handful of chances missed. But it didn’t matter in the end.

Man City’s curse returns

Man City fans will have thought they had turned the corner. Last season saw Man City beat Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium not once, but twice across all competitions.

They had lost their first five games at the ground, all without scoring. But Nathan Ake scored in a 1-0 win in the FA Cup, before Erling Haaland struck twice in a 2-0 win which was crucial to Man City winning the Premier League.

Man City were searching for three consecutive away wins against Tottenham for the first time since 1974. But normal service was resumed with the 2-0 defeat. It also means Man City have now gone four seasons without winning the EFL Cup, after lifting the trophy four years in a row.

2024-25 EFL Cup quarter-final draw

• Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United

• Arsenal vs Crystal Palace

• Newcastle United vs Brentford

• Southampton vs Liverpool

Quarter-final ties will take place on the week commencing Monday 17th December.