5 things we learnt from the League Cup fixtures on Tuesday
Aug 24, 2016 at 11:51 AM
The Premier League teams have to contend with a knockout tournament as early as the second week of the new season, especially for the clubs that failed to qualify for Europe this season. The likes of Chelsea and Liverpool were in action on Tuesday night as Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte get their first taste of the round 3 of the Capital One Cup or the League cup as it is called. Both teams managed to run away with victories but the teams and results were in stark contrast.
Liverpool romped to a 5-0 victory with a strong side against Burton Albion while Chelsea won 3-2 with a second string side over the Bristol Rovers.
Here are 5 things we learnt from these cup games:
Liverpool continue love affair with the League cup:
The most successful club in the history of the competition, Liverpool, missed out on their 9th Capital One Cup last season when Manchester City managed to edge past the Reds in a penalty shoot-out. However, the Liverpool manager seems to be very interested in finding silverware in the competition and set out a strong side which got the work done without much fuzz. Without European football, Klopp wanted his star players to get more game time to stay in shape and will surely try to go all the way in the cup this season.
Conte needs to learn of the English game:
Chelsea are in a similar state to Liverpool and are without European football this season. However, the manager decided to send in a second string squad with the likes of Aina, Loftus Cheek and Victor Moses and almost paid the price for it. Batshuayi scored twice while Moses also got his name on the scoresheet but Hartley and Harrison scored on either side of the break to set up a tense game for the last half an hour. Surely, Conte got it wrong on the night and was tested more than he would have wanted to on the night.
Sadio Mane a star in the making:
With the Senegalese International in the team, Liverpool have scored 9 goals in just 2 games since the start of the season. They were goalless in the game he missed, showing how important he has become for the Liverpool squad in a month’s time. He was simply unplayable on the night as he picked up two assists and created a number of chances for his side. Klopp will hope that his team are not too reliant on the winger and that he will stay fit for most of the next season.
Batshuayi looking the grade:
The former Marseille man looked comfortable ever since his move to Chelsea and has now settled into the squad without much fuzz. He has already opened his tally in the Premier League and has now scored a brace on his debut in the League Cup and has established himself alongside Diego Costa as a world class option for Antonio Conte in England. He has never looked fazed in the games he has played for the Blues and is a decent buy by Cone this summer.
Daniel Sturridge looked sharp:
Every Liverpool fan dreams of a season where Daniel Sturridge can be fit and firing. However, the England international missed the start of the season through injury and was only back for the Burnley game. He did not look fit enough for that game and was a liability at times. But in this game over Burton, Sturridge looked sharp and incisive and scored a brace in just the 20 minutes he was on the pitch, showing his value to the team. Surely he will have a huge role to play in the Liverpool squad this summer.