The final week before Christmas saw four clubs emerge victorious in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, each moving one step closer to lifting the first major silverware of the 2024/25 season.
Liverpool and Arsenal enjoyed narrow wins over Southampton and Crystal Palace respectively, while Newcastle United were a little more comfortable in seeing off Brentford. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United then went head to head in north London to round things off 24 hours later.
With the help of Fotmob player ratings, 90min picks out the best player from each of the four ties…
The best player on the pitch as Liverpool narrowly defeated manager-less Southampton at St Mary’s was not Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, or even goalscorer Darwin Nunez. Instead, Wataru Endo took that honour for his solid and enabling display.
The Japan international unusually started in the back four due to injuries and Virgil van Dijk being rested. But he was outstanding, barely misplacing a pass, winning all four of his tackles, all eight of his ground duels and three out of five aerial duels.
For Dominic Solanke, this week’s tie marked his fourth and fifth goals against Manchester in the 18 months since the start of last season – he simply loves scoring against them, no matter who he is playing for.
The first of the pair was of a real poacher’s instinct, reacting quickest to a rebound and keeping his cool to deceive the goalkeeper by finishing at the near post when the far post was the obvious choice. The second saw him cut inside from the left and shoot low into the net from 18 yards.
After being banned for ten months over betting breaches and returning to football in August, it feels like Wednesday night’s performance against Brentford could have been a catalyst for Sandro Tonali to justify his status as the most expensive Italian player in history.
The Newcastle United midfielder scored twice in the first half at St James’ Park alone, the first a drilled strike from distance and the second a calmly converted volley from a corner. Goals aren’t typically his game, but Tonali had five shots in total and, in one night, matched his tally from the entire 2022/23 season with AC Milan. He clearly has the potential to be a real star in this Magpies team.
Imagine waiting a year and a day for a home goal, and then three come along in less than half hour. That’s exactly what happened to Gabriel Jesus this week.
The misfiring Brazilian hadn’t netted at the Emirates Stadium since 17 December 2023 when the Gunners hosted Crystal Palace, and it didn’t look like that would change after the visitors took a shock lead and Arsenal appeared particularly meek.
Half-time substitutions changed everything. That, in turn, presented Jesus with three chances and he took each of them with the clinical confidence of someone who scores routinely.
