The dust has settled on the EFL Cup quarterfinals! In the early hours of Thursday morning (12), the last two matches of the last eight were played passionately. The much-anticipated Manchester City suffered an unexpected Waterloo, going down 0-2 to Southampton on the road and going out of the competition. United benefited from the exit of their rivals, and the Red Devils were lucky to be drawn against Nottingham Forest, who are widely favored to advance to the final. The other last four clash is between Newcastle United and Southampton, with the two-legged tie set to kick off at the end of the month.
In preparation for Saturday night's (14th) Manchester City derby, City had snowed in key players such as Esharawi and Kevin Dibny for this game and were caught off guard by Southampton. City were stunned in the opening 23 minutes when Sikko Mara drove a quick shot from inside the box to break the deadlock, and just five minutes later, Dzanipo scored with a clever lifted shot from 30 yards out to leave them two goals down at half-time.
At halftime, City brought on three players in a row, including Kevin Dibny, and Aisharawe made an early appearance, but despite launching several attacks, they failed to tear through the Southampton defense. In the end, the Saints knocked out City in a 2-0 blowout. In the other last eight match, Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 with Wolves at home and eventually won 4-3 on penalties to advance.
The draw for the quarter-finals took place immediately, with Manchester United, the sole survivor of the Premier League's Big6, drawn against Nottingham Forest, while Newcastle United, who have been surging this season, were drawn against Southampton. The EFL Cup quarterfinals will be a two-legged affair, with the tournament taking place over two working weeks on January 23rd and 30th.
