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EFL Cup 4th round: Liverpool edge past Spurs, Arsenal beat Reading

By Talksport
Sports News EFL Cup 4th round: Liverpool edge past Spurs, Arsenal beat Reading
OCT 26, 2016 LISTEN

Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Daniel Sturridge struck twice at Anfield to see off Tottenham and send Liverpool into the fifth round of the EFL Cup.

The England striker has now scored eight times in six Reds appearances in the competition, netting in each half to remind a seemingly sceptical Jurgen Klopp of his prowess.

Sturridge was one of the most senior players on show amid much rotation and his goals were enough to settle matters on Merseyside, despite Vincent Janssen's 76th-minute penalty bringing late tension and a flattering 2-1 scoreline.

Arsenal 2-0 Reading
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain staked a claim for a more regular involvement in the Arsenal side as he struck a brace to see off Reading in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

The England winger recently expressed his unhappiness at his lack of game time at the Emirates Stadium and had completed 90 minutes on just two occasions this season heading into the clash with the Royals.

Despite not featuring as much as he would like, Oxlade-Chamberlain has now scored five goals this season – his best return since he joined in 2011 – as he struck in either half to give Arsene Wenger's much-changed side a 2-0 victory and a place in the last eight of the competition.

Bristol City 1-2 Hull City
Hull shrugged off their poor Premier League form to reach the last eight of the EFL Cup with a 2-1 victory at Bristol City.

The Tigers had lost all four league games since winning at Stoke in the previous round of the competition.

But goals either side of half-time from centre-backs Harry Maguire – his first for Hull – and Michael Dawsontook the Tigers into the quarter-finals for the second successive year, despite Lee Tomlin's stoppage-time consolation.

Leeds United v Norwich City
Leeds beat Norwich 3-2 on penalties at Elland Road following a 2-2 draw after extra time.

Norwich had twice taken the lead in the match, Alex Pritchard (14) and Nelson Oliveira (99) netting but Leeds battled back to level both times thanks to Marcus Antonsson (43) and substitute Chris Wood (109).

That sent the tie to penalties, where Leeds came out on top with Ronaldo Vieira slotting home the winning spot-kick after Marco Silvestri had saved efforts from Pritchard, Steven Naismith and Robbie Brady.

Newcastle United 6-0 Preston North End
Alexander Mitrovic answered his critics in style as Newcastle marched into the EFL Cup quarter-finals by tearing 10-man Preston to shreds.

The Serbia international opened the scoring with a first-half header and after Mohamed Diame's first goal for the club, and a Matt Ritchie penalty had put the result beyond doubt, he added a second with a fine individual effort before Diame matched his feat and substitute Ayoze Perez helped himself at the death.

Rafael Benitez's side, who had only once before gone past the fourth round of a domestic cup competition during owner Mike Ashley's tenure, dominated from the off, but were helped in no small part by North End midfielder Alan Browne's 25th-minute dismissal for an ugly challenge on Jack Colback as they extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to eight games.

The teams, which featured a total of 16 changes in front of a crowd of 49,042 at St James' Park, meet again at Deepdale in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday, when Preston boss Simon Grayson will expect much, much more.

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