Super Eagles duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi ended on the losing side, as Leicester were eliminated by Liverpool on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Ndidi featured in defence following the absence of Johnny Evans while Iheanacho came on early in the second half.
With just seconds remaining in the second half and Leicester 3-2 ahead, Japanese forward Takumi Minamino, scored to force the game into penalty shootout.
Iheanacho was one of the Leicester players who scored theirs, but Diogo Jota scored the decisive spot kick to earn Liverpool a 5-4 win.
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It is a game Leicester would look back on with regrets as they went into the break 3-1 ahead but still managed to surrender their lead.
For Liverpool, it is a first semi-final appearance since the 2017.
Also out of this season’s Carabao Cup is Frank Onyeka and Brentford, who lost 2-0 to Chelsea.
Onyeka was introduced in the 74th minute but could not help the newly promoted club avoid home loss.
Chelsea broke the deadlock on 80 minutes following an own goal by Pontus Jansson, before Jorginho sealed the win from the penalty spot on 85 minutes.
And in the other quarter-finals, Tottenham Hotspur edged West Ham 2-1.
Meanwhile, the semi-finals pairing will see Tottenham Hotspur face Chelsea and Arsenal will battle Liverpool.
The first legs will be played during the week commencing 3 January 2022 and the second legs will be played during the week commencing 10 January 2022 with the Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 27 February 2022.
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COMMENTS
The last minute equalizer from Liverpool was a result of Ndidi misjudging the flight of the ball. A schoolboy error. Ball went over Ndidi’s head, got to Minamino, and the rest is history.
I guess Ndidi will be joining Ekong in the NO TALENT CLUB.
How many blunders has Ndidi committed compared to Ekong in the last 10 games for club…mm Honest question?
@Pompei… Some of us watch the match. It is not an equalizer to fault Ndidi at all… from the moment the ball was whipped in, it took barely 4seconds before it came flying past the central defence area of Leicester… the only option Ndidi had other than jumping impulsively to try to head the ball away was to take just a single step backwards from his standing position before jumping but how would anyone know how high the ball would be flying judging from where Ndidi stood? Why did you not ask where the guy who was brought in for Caglar Soyuncu was when the ball came flying in? Ndidi had a great game so much so that I was even thinking why can’t he play in our central defence when we prosecute our world cup playoff in March? I mean the weight of that play off game to qualify for world cup over two legs would be massive… We can’t entertain any errors in that game the likes for which Ekong is often prone to… Ndidi who is a traditional defensive midfielder can teach an Ekong, a lot in Central defence football! Iheanacho scored his penalty but other than that he could not do anything in attack… not even a single shot on goal!
Ndidi had a great game. No doubt about that. But the ball going over a center back’s head like that, at this level? Come on, Jimbo. It was his fault.
I’m not a defender, but if I don’t hear a shout from a team mate behind me in that situation, I will do everything possible to intercept that ball. Allowing the ball to go over his head like that is inexcusable. Maybe you can get away with that in a Sunday league, but not at this level!
Not to even mention country too
My point is players will make mistakes, and go thru periods of loss of form. That doesn’t mean they are no good.
Truth be told Ndidi need to add wisdom to his game. Sometimes I feel he is overrated because when we came up against Cameroon in the friendly Zambo Anguissa outplayed him. No wonder I always prefer to have midfield enforcer Etebo around in the mix.