Thursday 24 September 2015 07:02, UK
Newcastle were the high-profile victims of a busy night of Capital One Cup action but Liverpool almost joined them as they were taken the distance by Carlisle.
Elsewhere, there were braces for Mathieu Flamini in the north London derby and Jay Rodriguez in Southampton's thrashing of MK Dons.
Anthony Martial was among the goals for Manchester United again too but why did West Brom make so many changes?
Here we round-up the main talking points from Wednesday's games…
Liverpool limp over the line
"You're getting sacked in the morning," chanted the Carlisle supporters as both teams braced themselves for the penalty shootout following their 1-1 draw at Anfield. It might not have come to that had Liverpool failed to scrape their way past the mid-table League Two side on spot kicks but faith in Brendan Rodgers continues to wane on Merseyside.
Carlisle produced a creditable effort and defended admirably to restrict the Reds to one goal from their 47 shots but the creativity and purpose shown by Rodgers' men must be questioned too. That's now six games without an outright win and the trip to Goodison Park next week looms large on the horizon.
Newcastle's slide continues
Newcastle's season went from bad to worse as they were eliminated by Sheffield Wednesday in front of a crowd of 33,986 at St James' Park. The Magpies' win over Northampton in the previous round remains Steve McClaren's only victory in eight attempts this season with only rivals Sunderland keeping them off the bottom of the Premier League.
McClaren's coaching skills are oft-praised but it's on the pitch as much as in the transfer market that Newcastle are struggling. There were no signs of improvement against Wednesday, a team currently in the bottom half of the Championship, with supporters still waiting for positive patterns of play to develop. Next up it's Chelsea…
Flamini is the derby hero
Mathieu Flamini bagged an unlikely brace to win the north London derby for Arsenal against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, with his second strike a stunning volley. In an otherwise even contest, the experienced midfielder made the difference in the 2-1 triumph and he's currently Arsenal's joint-top scorer this season.
After back-to-back defeats, this was a more encouraging reminder that the Gunners do have options in their squad and Flamini will be hoping for more opportunities. "Right from the start he had the right attitude," said former team-mate Thierry Henry. "He was saying 'it is about the team' but tonight was about him. He showed that he can still play for Arsenal."
Yet another goal for Martial
Such was the scepticism when Anthony Martial arrived at Manchester United for that vast fee, even his debut goal was greeted with comparisons to Federico Macheda by the cynics. Four games in and he's scored in three more of them, taking his tally to four with a late goal against Ipswich in United's 3-0 win. That's already doubled Macheda's best total in a season.
Martial had only 20 minutes to add to his tally at Old Trafford on Wednesday but showed further evidence of a finishing prowess that belies his age. The teenager slotted the ball into the corner and has now scored four times in 225 minutes. With a home game against bottom-club Sunderland coming up, he'll fancy his chances of another at the weekend.
Why would West Brom rotate?
Complaining about teams not taking the cups seriously is a familiar refrain but the example of West Brom would seem particularly pertinent as they were ousted from the competition by Norwich at Carrow Road. Few could have been surprised by the 3-0 scoreline after seeing Tony Pulis' line-up, with the selection of Victor Anichebe in an unfamiliar midfield role seeming to sum it up.
The Albion boss had promised changes but few anticipated 10 of them and the move was particularly baffling given that his team do not play again until Monday Night Football. With only Chelsea and Manchester City having scored against the Baggies let alone beaten them this season, a first-choice side might have seen them progress. Fans are surely entitled to feel disappointed.
Rodriguez back in the goals
Having scored five in his previous four games, Jay Rodriguez was in the form of his life and had a World Cup in his sights when he suffered a serious injury against Manchester City in April 2014. It's taken well over a year for the England international to return to full fitness but at the sixth attempt he bagged his first goals of the season in domestic competition.
There had already been a penalty in the Europa League against Midtjylland but this was further evidence of his capabilities. Opening the scoring just five minutes into Southampton's game against MK Dons, Rodriguez added a second from the spot early in the second half as the Premier League side won 6-0 in Milton Keynes. Rodriguez deserves these to be the first of many.
