UPDATE: In a thrilling finish at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal secured their spot in the Carabao Cup semi-finals after an intense 8-7 penalty shootout against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night. The match turned disastrous for Palace defender Maxence Lacroix, who not only scored an own goal but also missed the decisive penalty kick.
Arsenal took a crucial lead in the 80th minute when Lacroix inadvertently redirected the ball into his own net. The match seemed destined for a Palace defeat until Marc Guehi equalized in the fifth minute of stoppage time, forcing the shootout. In the end, Lacroix’s penalty was saved by Arsenal’s Kepa Arrizabalaga, sealing the Gunners’ victory.
Next, Arsenal will face their London rivals, Chelsea, in a highly anticipated two-legged semi-final.
In another key development, Liverpool manager Arne Slot criticized Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven for a “reckless” tackle that left Alexander Isak sidelined with a broken leg. The injury occurred during a match on Saturday, where Isak scored Liverpool’s opening goal. Slot condemned the tackle, stating, “If you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury.” In response, Spurs boss Thomas Frank defended Van de Ven, insisting he is a fair player and that Isak and Van de Ven had reconciled.
Meanwhile, in a surprising turn of events, renowned US television host and author Martha Stewart has become a minority owner of Championship club Swansea. At 84 years old, Stewart joins her close friend Snoop Dogg and Croatian football star Luka Modric as part-owners. Stewart attended Swansea’s 2-1 victory over Wrexham and expressed enthusiasm for her role in the club.
In international football, Senegal kicked off their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Botswana, thanks to a brace from Nicolas Jackson. The Bayern Munich forward, on loan from Chelsea, scored before and after halftime, with Cherif Ndiaye rounding off the scoring. In other Group D action, the Democratic Republic of Congo edged Benin 1-0 with a goal from Theo Bongonda.
Today’s matches feature the defending champions, the Ivory Coast, starting their Africa Cup of Nations title defense against Mozambique, while Cameroon faces Gabon in another Group F clash. Group E sees Algeria taking on Sudan after Burkina Faso competes against Equatorial Guinea.
Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates on these developing stories!
