Ruud van Nistelrooy got off to a winning start as interim Manchester United manager by beating Leicester 5-2 to reach the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday as Manchester City crashed out 2-1 to Tottenham.
Arsenal and Liverpool were among the other sides to book their place in the last eight, but Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at Newcastle.
A United legend as a player, Van Nistelrooy was thrust into the role of caretaker boss after the Red Devils sacked Erik ten Hag on Monday following a dreadful start to the season.
Photo: Reuters
Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim is the man the English giants have targeted to take over, but are still in negotiations with the Portuguese champions to agree compensation for the 39-year-old.
Amorim would remain at Sporting for the next three matches before completing his move during the November international break, reports in Portugal said.
“I came here as an assistant to help the club. I’m helping as long as I’m needed and in the future, in any capacity, I’m here to help the club build toward the future,” Van Nistelrooy said.
“The reaction of the players was excellent. They deserve the credit for a good win and I’m happy the crowd goes home with a nice night of football,” he added.
The Dutchman said before the game that United “can be unstoppable” when “players, staff and supporters pull together” and they cut loose by scoring four times in a thrilling first 45 minutes.
Casemiro’s stunning effort into the top corner opened the scoring before Alejandro Garnacho swept home Diogo Dalot’s cross to please a jubilant Van Nistelrooy on the touchline.
Bilal El Khannouss quickly pulled a goal back for the much-changed Foxes.
Bruno Fernandes’ deflected free-kick restored United’s two-goal cushion before Casemiro slammed home his third goal in two games.
Conor Coady grabbed another consolation for Leicester but United were not to be denied just a second win in nine games.
Fernandes rounded off the scoring when he pounced on a short back-pass to round Danny Ward and fire home.
United’s reward is a trip to Tottenham in the last eight after they eliminated a City side without Erling Haaland.
Timo Werner slotted home his first goal since March from Dejan Kulusevski’s inviting cross to open the scoring.
Pape Sarr’s long-range strike doubled Spurs’ lead before Matheus Nunes got an injury-hit City back into the tie in first-half stoppage time.
However, they could not find an equalizer and Pep Guardiola showed where his priorities lie as Haaland remained on the bench for the full 90 minutes.
Cody Gakpo was the match-winner for Liverpool in a 3-2 win at Brighton to continue Arne Slot’s excellent start to life with the Reds.
Gakpo has not scored in the English Premier League (PL) or UEFA Champions League this season, but now has four goals in two League Cup games.
The Dutch international was ruthless with two powerful finishes cutting inside onto his right foot from the left wing.
Luis Diaz was also on target for Liverpool, while Simon Adingra and Tariq Lamptey struck late on for Brighton.
Liverpool are away to Southampton in next month’s quarter-finals.
Teenager Ethan Nwaneri caught the eye with a sensational strike as Arsenal eased to a 3-0 win at Championship side Preston.
Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz got the other goals for the Gunners.
Arsenal host Crystal Palace, who beat Aston Villa 2-1, in the quarters.
Newcastle gained revenge for their PL defeat at Chelsea at the weekend to ease the pressure on manager Eddie Howe.
The Saudi-backed Magpies are winless in five in the league, but are desperate to end a 55-year wait to win a major trophy.
Alexander Isak’s strike and an Axel Disasi own goal inside three first-half minutes proved decisive at St. James’ Park.
Newcastle would fancy their chances of making the last four after being handed a home draw against Brentford.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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