League Cup: Man United score 5 without Ten Hag, Spurs oust Man City

Manchester United responded to the departure of Erik ten Hag by scoring four goals in the first 38 minutes on the way to a 5-2 thrashing of Leicester in the English League Cup, while Tottenham eliminated Manchester City in the last 16 on Wednesday.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals were defending champion Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle, and Crystal Palace.

Two days after firing Ten Hag, United displayed the cutting edge so often lacking under the Dutchman with Brazil midfielder Casemiro scoring two of the team’s first-half goals - one a curling strike into the top corner from 30 meters.

Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes also netted in that early flurry of goals, while Fernandes added a fifth in the 59th.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, United’s former star striker, took charge of United having been Ten Hag’s assistant, and enjoyed what might be his only game at the helm. United appears close to bringing in Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim as the replacement for Ten Hag.

Rough day for Man City

It was a night to forget for Premier League leader Man City, which not only lost the match to Tottenham 2-1 but also lost Savinho and Manuel Akanji to injuries to further deplete Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Goals by Timo Werner and Pape Sarr in the opening 25 minutes put Tottenham two goals clear before Matheus Nunes reduced the deficit in first-half stoppage time for City.

Akanji was injured in the warmup and didn’t start the game, while Savinho hurt his ankle and was in tears as he was carried off the field on a stretcher in the 63rd minute. City is already without Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish because of injuries.

Tottenham also sustained injuries to Micky van de Ven and Werner.

Liverpool keep rolling

Liverpool continued its League Cup title defense with a 3-2 win over Brighton that was sparked by a double from Cody Gakpo.

The Netherlands international scored in the 46th and 63rd minutes at Amex Stadium, while Luis Diaz added a third in the 85th after Brighton had pulled a goal back through Simon Adingra.

Liverpool held on after Tariq Lamptey scored Brighton’s second goal in the 90th.

Liverpool has won the League Cup a record 10 times, most recently last season with a victory over Chelsea in the final.

Chelsea eliminated, Arsenal cruise

Newcastle beat Chelsea 2-0 thanks to Alexander Isak’s close-range strike and an own-goal by Axel Disasi, while Palace defeated Aston Villa 2-1 in another all-Premier League match thanks to goals by Eberechi Eze and Daichi Kamada. Jhon Duran netted for Villa.

Palace’s reward is a last-eight match against Arsenal, which was a 3-0 winner at second-tier Preston after goals by Gabriel Jesus, Ethan Nwaneri and Kai Havertz.

Brentford and Southampton complete the lineup for the last eight, having advanced on Tuesday.

Quarterfinal draw

• Tottenham vs. Manchester United
• Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace
• Newcastle vs. Brentford
• Southampton vs. Liverpool

Matches will be played the week commencing Monday, December 16.

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer