Arsenal, Chelsea crashed out of League Cup

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-03 09:21

Manchester City's Craig Bellamy (R) challenges Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue (L) during their English League Cup soccer match in Manchester, northern England, December 2, 2009. [Agencies]

LONDON: Manchester City scored three second-half goals Wednesday for a 3-0 win over Arsenal and a meeting with defending champion Manchester United in the League Cup semifinals.

City is on a streak of seven draws in the Premier League but advanced to its first semifinal since 1981 with a second win over Arsenal this season.

Blackburn will meet Aston Villa in the other two-legged semifinal after beating Chelsea 4-3 in a shootout after a 3-3 extra-time draw in Wednesday's other quarterfinal.

Carlos Tevez put City ahead five minutes into the second half, stealing possession from Tomas Rosicky to carry the ball into the area and hit a right-footed shot in off the crossbar.

Shaun Wright-Phillips counterattacked from halfway in the 69th minute and scored with a fierce shot into the far top corner, and substitute Vladimir Weiss rounded off the scoring in the final minute.

"That gives us the belief to now play our way," Manchester City defender Kolo Toure said. "It was really important to get back to winning because we had seven draws."

City's expensively assembled squad could now be just three matches away from winning the club's first trophy since the 1976 League Cup.

Wright-Phillips limped off midway through the second half with a calf injury but said after the game he expected to be fit to face Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday.

Chelsea eliminated on pens

Gael Kakuta missed the decisive penalty for Chelsea after Paulo Ferreira had rescued a 3-3 draw for the Blues with a goal in the last minute of extra time. The 18-year-old Kakuta needed to score to keep Chelsea in the shootout but goalkeeper Paul Robinson saved his kick down the middle.

Chelsea players react during a penalty shoot-out with Blackburn Rovers during their English League Cup soccer match in Blackburn, northern England December 2, 2009. [Agencies]

The teams had drawn 2-2 through 90 minutes as Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou scored for Chelsea and Nikola Kalinic and Brett Emerton scored for Blackburn.

South Africa striker Benni McCarthy then had an injury-time winner ruled out because of offside before hitting a 93rd-minute penalty to put Blackburn into what had looked like a decisive lead until Ferreira scored.

The two-legged semifinals are scheduled for the weeks commencing January 4 and January 18, with the final at Wembley on February 28.

United beat 2008 winner Tottenham 2-0 on Tuesday in a rerun of last season's final, while Villa beat Portsmouth 4-2.