Just when you thought you had seen it all…

More comes along.

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Two day of Capital One Cup fourth round action. Eight matches. 43 times the ball hits the back of the net.

More than five goals per game on average!

Do not even dare say the magic of the cup is dead.

In my previous post I ended with a plea for that very spirit to live on and Wednesday’s fixtures definitely did not disappoint.

Manchester United graced Stamford Bridge again just days after the saga which unfolded on Sunday which resulted in them taking three Premier League points against leaders Chelsea.

This time it was a place in the quarter-final at stake and Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea were after revenge.

United led 2-1 at the interval but Chelsea threatened a young and frail visiting defence throughout.

Gary Cahill equalised for Chelsea before Nani gave the away side the lead once again before Scott Wootton conceded a 92^nd minute penalty gifting the opposition a ticket to extra time.

Goals from Daniel Sturridge and Ramires shot the home side into a 5-3 lead leaving many feeling the game had been put to bed.

Ryan Giggs managed to net a consolation penalty but with just seconds left on the clock his race back to the half-way mark was in vein as the final whistle from Lee Mason shortly followed.

In an all top-flight evening of affairs in the Capital One Cup it was again not just a tale of one drama.

Brendan Rogers’ sketchy Liverpool side hosted his former club Swansea City who produced a somewhat regal display to send their ex-gaffer packing.

Chico gave the visiting side the lead at the half-way mark of the tie before Nathan Dyer doubled the tally for the Jack Army.

Luis Suarez provided retaliation just four minutes later to give Rogers some hope to cling onto.

Before Wednesday’s clash Swansea had scored three goals in their last nine league cup fixtures and De Guzman sent the Welshmen into double figures with his 90^th minute tap-in sealing a place in the last-eight.

Meanwhile at Carrow Road Andre Villas-Boas’ tenure as Tottenham Hotspur manager took a further blow as his side scored two goals but managed to lose 2-1.

Gareth Bale gave Spurs the lead in the second half but an 84^th minute own goal from Vertonghen brought Norwich back into the tie.

With a quarter-final place up for grabs the pressure was on and an added half an hour loomed.

But Simeon Jackson gave the home side a 2-1 lead in the 87^th minute and with Clint Dempsey failing to convert a late penalty it was the Canaries who were left to progress to the final eight.

Tuesday, scintillating.

Wednesday, enthralling.

Cup football, incomparable.

If anyone’s fire for football ever needed reigniting these two autumnal evenings of theatre are just what the doctor ordered.

Ben Hampshire (@BH92)

It’s All Action

It never fails to serve up a surprise.

With the parameters of the league system dictating the level at which teams can compete there is no substitute for the magic ignited on a night of cup football.

Despite autumn truly taking a hold of Britain with darker evenings and bracing conditions on the terraces the heat provided on the field is far from simmering.

An exhilarating night of football in the Capital One Cup fourth round saw five matches each with unique talking points and all worthy of stealing the headlines.

All of Tuesday night’s fixtures featured top-flight teams, two proceeding and three eliminated from this term’s competition.

Sports editors country-wide will not have pondered too long on the centre-stage story of the night which without a doubt occurred at the Madejski Stadium.

Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side would not have expected to face 120 minutes of football featuring eight yellow cards and an extraordinary 12 goals.

Within 37 minutes of the kick-off Reading has taken a four-goal lead against the Premier League side on home turf.

A second half comeback from the Gunners, inspired by two goals from Theo Walcott, levelled the match at 4-4 taking it into an extra half hour.

Arsenal took the lead just before the half way stage in extra time before another scintillating twist in the saga saw Reading draw level once again.

With penalties beckoning it was beginning to look like the tie could only be decided through the dreaded shootout.

But, as with any theatre, there had to be a final dramatic twist. This time virtue of Theo Walcott as he completed his hat-trick before Chamakh put the tie to bed with a historic finish resulting in a 7-5 victory for the Gunners.

However, Reading and Arsenal were not the only ones to provide an evening of sporting theatre.

League Two side Bradford City travelled to the DW Stadium to take on Wigan Athletic.

Having managed to hold Roberto Martinez’s Wigan side to a goalless draw after 90 minutes few would have expected what was to follow.

A further 30 minutes saw more heroic defending and passionate rallying from the Bradford players meant the deadlock remained.

They say penalty shootouts are a lottery, Bradford City will claim it is a test of true steel after they triumphed 4-2 from the spot to knock out a Premier League side for the first time since 1995 when they beat Nottingham Forest in the second round.

Furthermore Southampton produced a below-par performance at Elland Road as Leeds United sealed a quarter-final spot.

The home side took a first half lead against Nigel Adkins’ Premier League side before goals from Diouf and Becchio completed a 3-0 victory of the Whites leaving Southampton on the wrong end of an eventful evening of cup football.

Meanwhile a spirited Swindon team under the leadership of Paolo Di Canio fought back to scare Aston Villa at the County Ground.

The top-flight outfit were two up at the interval but a brace from Miles Storey brought the League One challengers well and truly back into the game.

Paul Lambert’s Villa managed to clinch victory without overtime or embarrassment as Christian Benteke doubled his tally for the night giving the visitors a 3-2 victory.

Finally, Middlesbrough became the second Championship side to make the last-eight following their well-earned win against Sunderland in the Wear-Tees showdown.

A lone first-half goal from Scott McDonald was the difference between the two as Tony Mowbray’s men continue to march on in their league cup campaign.

Recounting all the drama from the night’s action reminds of the beauty of the cup.

The cup allows teams who should not be meeting according the footballing hierarchy to test their skills against each other and the result, dazzling sporting theatre.

Long live the magic of the cup.

Mere reflections on a phenomenal night of footballing action.

That’s all.

Ben Hampshire (@BH92)