Carabao Cup third round results
The 2021/22 season may be in its infancy but the third round of the Carabao Cup is already in the pocket.
Tuesday's fixtures saw comfortable wins for heavyweight challengers Manchester City and Liverpool, while there were also wins for Premier League duo Brentford and Burnley. But there were some surprise exits too, namely Everton - who crashed out at QPR after losing on penalties.
Wednesday saw Manchester United exit the competition at the hands of West Ham at Old Trafford, while Tottenham came out on top in the Nuno Espirito Santo derby.
Here's a rundown of all of the results following an entertaining two days...
Tuesday
Manchester City rotated heavily in defence against Wycombe but released the big guns up front in a 6-1 demolition job at the Etihad Stadium.
Brandon Hanlan gave the Chairboys a shock lead after 22 minutes before Pep Guardiola's side sprung to life after Kevin De Bruyne's equaliser. Riyad Mahrez bagged a brace, and Phil Foden and Ferran Torres netted one each before young midfielder Cole Palmer put the gloss on the scoreline two minutes from time.
Liverpool were also comfortable winners, overcoming a lacklustre Norwich 3-0 at Carrow Road. Takumi Minamino scored twice for the Reds, either side of a well-taken header from Divock Origi.
Elsewhere, there was a shock at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium as Championship outfit QPR overcame Everton 8-7 on penalties after the two sides had shared four goals between them. Charlie Austin netted a brace for Rangers, with Lucas Digne and Andros Townsend on the scoresheet for the Toffees, before Tom Davies saw his spot kick saved by QPR goalkeeper Seny Dieng.
Jimmy Dunne then netted the winner, sending Asmir Begovic the wrong way to crash his penalty into the top corner.
There was also success for Southampton on penalties (4-2) after a 2-2 draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, as well as Leeds - who overcame Fulham 6-5 in their shootout at Craven Cottage following a goalless draw.
Premier League new boys Watford, who rotated a number of players, were another round three casualty, crashing out 3-1 to Stoke at Vicarage Road after goals from Nick Powell, Sam Clucas and Josh Tymon.
Burnley cruised into round four as Jay Rodriguez scored four goals - his first treble or more in over a decade - in a 4-1 win over Rochdale, while there was even more impressive win for Brentford. Thomas Frank's side ran out 7-0 victors over Oldham Athletic, spearheaded by another four-goal showing - this time from Marcus Forss. Youna Wissa was also on the scoresheet twice.
Preston are also through after overcoming League One newcomers Cheltenham 4-1 at Deepdale, as are Sunderland - who won the battle of first vs second in the third tier of English football to beat Wigan Athletic 2-0.
Results
Brentford 7-0 Oldham
Burnley 4-1 Rochdale
Fulham 0-0 Leeds (5-6 pens)
Man City 6-1 Wycombe
Norwich 0-3 Liverpool
Preston 4-1 Cheltenham
QPR 2-2 Everton (8-7 pens)
Sheffield United 2-2 Southampton (2-4 pens)
Watford 1-3 Stoke
Wigan 0-2 Sunderland
Wednesday
In the standout result of the night a much-rotated Manchester United crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of West Ham, who got revenge for their Premier League defeat to the Red Devils on Sunday.
The game finished 1-0 with Manuel Lanzini's first-half strike proving the difference between the two sides. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer introduced both Mason Greenwood and Bruno Fernandes after the break to try and force an equaliser, but it was not to be.
Chelsea nearly went the same way as United, requiring penalties to get past a young Aston Villa side at Stamford Bridge.
After a drab first half, Timo Werner nodded his side in front in the second period before youngster Cameron Archer levelled up the scores with a header of his own. The game was eventually decided in the shootout with misses from Ashley Young and Marvelous Nakamba allowing Reece James to smash home the winning spot kick.
Elsewhere, Brighton eased past Championship Swansea City 2-0 thanks to a quickfire, first-half brace from Aaron Connolly.
Aside from the Seagulls going through, the game was notable as it saw Tariq Lamptey make his return to the starting XI following an extended period out of the side through injury. Premier League Leicester City also dismissed of second-tier opposition with Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho goals helping them secure a 2-0 win over Millwall at the New Den.
Tottenham went 2-0 up against Wolves, thanks to goals from Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Kane, only to be pegged back by their hosts and having to triumph via a penalty shootout. The first four efforts were converted before Ruben Neves, Leander Dendoncker and Conor Coady missed consecutively for Wolves to send Spurs through to the fourth round.
In the final tie of the round Arsenal had no problem dispatching of League One AFC Wimbledon. Alexandre Lacazette gave them the lead from the spot before late strikes from Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah added some gloss to the scoreline.
Results
Brighton 2-0 Swansea City
Millwall 0-2 Leicester
Wolves 2-2 Tottenham (2-3 pen)
Man Utd 0-1 West Ham
Arsenal 3-0 AFC Wimbledon
Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa (4-3 pen)