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In the final week before Christmas, four clubs emerged victorious in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, each moving a step closer to lifting the first major trophy of the 2024/25 season.
Liverpool and Arsenal enjoyed narrow victories over Southampton and Crystal Palace respectively, while Newcastle United felt a little more comfortable beating Brentford. Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United met in north London to round off the match 24 hours later.
With the aid of Photomob player ratings, 90 minutes choose the best player from each of the four qualifying rounds…
The best player on the field when Liverpool narrowly defeated managerless Southampton at St Mary’s was not Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold or even goalscorer Darwin Nunez. Instead, Wataru Endo took that honor for his solid and empowering display.
The Japan international unusually started in the bottom four due to injuries and the rest of Virgil van Dijk. But he was outstanding, barely dropping a pass, winning all four of his tackles, all eight of his ground duels and three of his five aerial duels.
For Dominic Solanke, this week’s equalizer marked his fourth and fifth goal against Manchester in the 18 months since the start of last season; He just loves scoring against them, no matter who he plays for.
The first of the two had a true poacher’s instinct, reacting quicker to a rebound and staying calm to deceive the goalkeeper by shooting at the near post when the far post was the obvious option. On the second, he cut inside from the left and shot low into the net from 18 yards.
After a ten-month suspension for non-compliance with betting and returning to football in August, it seems that 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 the story.
The Newcastle United midfielder scored two goals in the first half at St James’ Park alone, the first with a long-range shot and the second with a calmly converted volley from a corner. Goals are not his usual game, but Tonali scored five shots in total and, in one night, equaled his tally for 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 goal at home and then three come in less than half an hour. That’s exactly what happened to Gabriel Jesús this week.
The Brazilian had not scored at the Emirates Stadium since December 17, 2023, when the Gunners hosted Crystal Palace, and it did not look like that would change after the visitors took a shock lead and Arsenal looked particularly tame.
The substitutions at half-time changed everything. That, in turn, presented Jesus with three opportunities and he took advantage of each one with the clinical confidence of someone who routinely scores goals.
