Football Newsfeed

Leicester City players would still be wondering how they let a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals slip through their fingers after failing to hold on to a two-goal lead on two occasions during the quarter-final tie with hosts Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday night.

The Foxes wouldn’t have wished for a better start when leading goalscorer Jamie Vardy scored twice in the opening thirteen (13) to establish a good lead for his team. The retired England international shot the Foxes into the lead in the ninth minute before he added his brace four minutes later to put his team in a commanding position.

Liverpool were given a massive lifeline when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored to halve the two-nil deficit for his team in the 19^th minute. The Foxes restored their two-goal advantage when playmaker James Maddison scored a very good goal in the 33^rd minute. The stunner from Maddison ensured that the Foxes led 3-1 at the end of the first half, but they failed to maintain the intensity from the first half in the second half and that gave the Reds a route back into the game.

Portugal international Diogo Jota has been amongst the goals for Liverpool this season and he was subbed on for young right-back Conor Bradley at the start of the second half in the bid to rescue the game and he scored midway into the second half to get the Reds back into the game before Japanese national team star Takumi Minamino scored with virtually the last kick of  the game in the 95^th minute to force penalties.

During shootout, Leicester City left-back Ryan Bertrand missed the vital spot kick in sudden death to send Liverpool into the final four after Diogo Jota converted his own spot kick.

The reward for securing a place in the final four is a semi-final clash with Arsenal over two legs.