Cherki inspires City, Magpies strike late to reach League Cup semis

Rayan Cherki’s stunning strike put Manchester City on their way to the League Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Brentford, while holders Newcastle beat Fulham 2-1 on Wednesday.

City face the Magpies in the last four, while Chelsea will take on Arsenal or Crystal Palace.

Ahead of the hectic festive Premier League schedule, Pep Guardiola could afford to give Erling Haaland the night off as his side secured a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions.

Haaland was left on the bench among seven changes by Guardiola at the Etihad.

“We have had a run of a lot of games for Erling for example and Ruben (Dias) and the other ones and they have to be ready,” Guardiola said.

“We have to do it (give them a rest) and we talked a lot about these days about everyone being connected today.”

Abdukodir Khusanov was one of those handed a rare start and the Uzbek defender was lucky just to see a yellow card for chopping down Kevin Schade when the German looked set to run through on goal.

Guardiola was forced to field the in-form Phil Foden for longer than he hoped as the England international replaced the injured Oscar Bobb after just 20 minutes.

But it was Cherki who unlocked the Brentford rearguard action in style 10 minutes before half-time.

The Frenchman collected a corner cleared to the edge of the box, cut inside onto his right foot and unleashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

The home side’s second was much more fortunate as Savinho’s shot looped over Hakon Valdimarsson via a deflection off Kristoffer Ajer 20 minutes from time.

City won the League Cup four years in a row under Guardiola between 2018 and 2021. But this is the first time in five seasons they have progressed to the last four.

Newcastle are back in the semi-finals thanks to Lewis Miley’s stoppage time header at St. James’ Park.

A dismal performance in losing 1-0 to local rivals Sunderland on Sunday heaped the pressure on Eddie Howe’s men to respond.

Yoane Wissa opened his Newcastle account on his first start after just 10 minutes but Sasa Lukic quickly levelled for the visitors.

The tie appeared destined for penalties until Miley got a flick to Sandro Tonali’s enticing delivery.

Newcastle ended a 70-year wait to win a domestic trophy when they won the League Cup last season and Howe is eager for more.

“It was important to bounce back from Sunderland, to come back in a positive fashion,” he said.

“We want to be competitive and win trophies - this one we had a great experience last year we want to do that again.”

Earlier, Chelsea showed their support for unsettled boss Enzo Maresca as they survived a scare from third-tier Cardiff to reach the League Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win.

Maresca’s side took the lead thanks to Alejandro Garnacho’s strike early in the second half of the quarter-final in the Welsh capital. Chelsea were pushed hard by the gritty League One leaders, who equalised through David Turnbull’s thumping header.

But the Blues delivered a welcome tonic for Maresca after his recent outburst, as Pedro Neto and Garnacho struck in the closing stages. When Maresca faced the media on Monday, the Italian refused to clarify his explosive claim after Saturday’s 2-0 win over Everton that the previous 48 hours had been his worst at Stamford Bridge because he and his team lacked “support” from “many people”. Maresca’s rant had fuelled speculation he was criticising the club’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali and sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.

It has been suggested that Maresca was unhappy with the failure of Chelsea’s hierarchy to publicly support him amid criticism of his rotation policy during the team’s recent dip in form.

The victory over Cardiff was only their second in six games in all competitions.

Maresca, who led the Blues to Club World Cup and UEFA Conference League glory earlier this year, has now led Chelsea to three semi-finals in 18 months. Asked if he felt backed by the club, Maresca said: “Tonight the focus has to be that we reached the semi-final, the support from fans has always been there.”

“We are going in the right direction, everything I do is because I want the best for everyone, the fans, players everyone,” he said.

“Very happy, especially for the effort of the players. I said yesterday that the schedule is full of these tricky games and so you have to pay attention and we did that.”

Chelsea, eight points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, are bidding to win the League Cup for the first time since 2015. Prioritising Saturday’s Premier League trip to Newcastle, Maresca made 11 changes, with Cole Palmer rested and Moises Caicedo returning from suspension.

Filip Jorgensen saved from Callum Robinson and then Turnbull as fired-up Cardiff fed off the febrile atmosphere from the sell-out 33,000 crowd. Chelsea struggled to match Cardiff’s intensity and they nearly fell behind as Isaak Davies’s cross deflected off Caicedo, forcing Jorgensen to make a superb stop. Maresca’s worst 48 hours had been followed by one of his most forgettable 45 minutes, but he turned the tide by sending on Garnacho and Joao Pedro at the interval. Garnacho made an immediate impact as he put Chelsea ahead in the 57th minute.

Dylan Lawlor’s woeful pass was intercepted by Facundo Buonanotte who raced into the Cardiff area before slipping a pass to Garnacho, who kept his composure for a clinical finish. Chelsea lost their lead in the 75th minute.

Perry Ng whipped his cross into the Chelsea area and Turnbull punished sloppy marking with a powerful header from 10 yards. The Blues responded emphatically in the 82nd minute when Neto took Joao Pedro’s pass and drilled a low deflected strike into the far corner. Garnacho put the seal on Chelsea’s victory in stoppage-time, lifting a deft finish over Nathan Trott after surging into the area. In Wednesday’s quarter-final action, Manchester City host Brentford and Newcastle face Fulham, while Arsenal meet Crystal Palace on December 23.

Chelsea has seen a 44% spike in injuries after competing in the supersized Club World Cup this year, according to findings published on Tuesday. But the newly expanded tournament has so far had a “minimal impact” on injuries overall, the latest edition of the Men’s European Football Injury Index found. There was fierce opposition to FIFA’s new flagship club event when it was confirmed in 2023 that it would increase from seven to 32 teams, with players’ unions warning of physical and mental burnout of players due to an ever expanding match schedule. But FIFA pressed ahead and staged the tournament in the United States in June-July. Agencies