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Tag English League Cup

  • Mar, Fri, 2020
Sport

England should scrap League Cup to free up calendar, UEFA president says

Calendar
Nyon (Switzerland), March 6, 2020 (Reuters/NAN) England should scrap its League Cup in order to avoid fixture congestion, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said on Friday.

English clubs compete for both the FA Cup and the League Cup every season but the scheduling and format of the latter has come in for criticism.

The two-legged semi-finals have added to a congested calendar.

Liverpool were forced to play their under-23 team in this season’s quarter-finals as the senior team had to fly to Qatar for the Club World Cup.

It had led to the Anfield side’s manager, Juergen Klopp, appealing to the football authorities to rethink the scheduling of their big events.

“The League Cup is off in France already. Only England remains. I think that everybody knows that it would be better for everyone if that were not played any more,” Ceferin said.

 

The French professional football league have decided in September that the League Cup would not be held from next season.

This was after they failed to secure a broadcaster for the 2020/2024 period while Germany, Spain and Italy have only one cup competition.

“But the problem is that, through that cup, you finance a lot of clubs that are quite disadvantaged,” Ceferin added.

“So, I understand the problem. The English are also quite traditionalist. You like things that have been there for ages.”

Manchester City won the League Cup for the third consecutive season last weekend after beating Aston Villa 2-1 at Wembley.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Kane penalty kick gives Tottenham edge over Chelsea in League Cup

Cup

London, Jan. 9, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Tottenham Hotspur gained a slender advantage over London rivals Chelsea on Tuesday in their League Cup semi-final meeting as Harry Kane’s penalty kick earned them a 1-0 win at Wembley.

Kane’s 26th minute penalty kick, his 160th goal for the club, means Mauricio Pochettino’s side will be slight favourites to reach the final after the first leg match.

But there is plenty of work still to do.

The only goal of the evening arrived in unusual circumstances with referee Michael Oliver eventually awarding a penalty kick with the help of VAR.

This was after Spurs skipper Kane was adjudged to have been marginally onside before being taken out by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Kane tucked away the penalty kick with his usual aplomb to move fourth, above Cliff Jones, on Tottenham’s all-time list of goalscorers.

Chelsea, who were far better than in their 3-1 English Premier League defeat to Tottenham in November, could count themselves unlucky though.

They twice hit the woodwork before the break and completely dominated the second half.

Tottenham had to defend desperately at times and goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga was forced into making several sharp saves.

The second leg will take place at Stamford Bridge on Jan. 24.

Tottenham are looking to win their first silverware under manager Mauricio Pochettino and their first trophy since beating Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final.

Holders Manchester City face Burton Albion in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)