Wednesday’s briefing: Nightmare for Lacroix while Slot and Frank clash
Martha Stewart invested in Swansea and Nicolas Jackson was on form at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix endured an evening to forget as Arsenal scraped into the Carabao Cup semi-finals on penalties.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot and Tottenham boss Thomas Frank had a difference of opinions on the tackle which left Alexander Isak with a broken leg.
US television host and author Martha Stewart joined Snoop Dogg and Luka Modric as a minority owner of Swansea, while Senegal were among the teams to enjoy a winning start at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Arsenal into semi-finals after shoot-out
Arsenal secured their place in the last four of the Carabao Cup thanks to a marathon 8-7 sudden-death penalty shootout victory over Crystal Palace.
Eagles centre-back Maxence Lacroix scored an own goal to give the Gunners an 80th-minute lead at the Emirates Stadium.
The Frenchman then missed the decisive penalty, which was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga, after Marc Guehi forced spot-kicks by equalising in the fifth minute of added time.
Premier League leaders Arsenal face a two-legged London derby against Chelsea in the semi-finals.
Slot calls Van de Ven tackle ‘reckless’
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot criticised Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven for the “reckless” tackle which has sidelined Alexander Isak for a couple of months with a fractured fibula.
Reds striker Isak was injured in scoring the opening goal of Saturday’s 2-1 top-flight win in north London when his shooting leg was caught by sliding Spurs defender Van de Ven.
Slot said: “This was, for me, a reckless challenge. If you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury.”
Spurs boss Thomas Frank defended his player, saying: “Reckless challenge? I don’t think you see anything like that from Micky. He is very fair and I know the two players have sorted it out, so that’s a good sign.”
Stewart joins Snoop as Swans co-owner
US TV host and author Martha Stewart became a minority owner of Championship club Swansea.
The lifestyle and homemaking expert, who is 84, joined close friend Snoop Dogg and Croatia and AC Milan midfielder Luka Modric as part-owners of the Swans.
She attended Friday’s 2-1 victory over Welsh rivals Wrexham.
Majority owners Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen said: “We are very excited to welcome Martha on board, and we know experiencing Friday night’s game in-person has only increased her own enthusiasm and anticipation for being part of Swansea City.”
Jackson helps Senegal beat Botswana
Nicolas Jackson’s brace helped Senegal ease to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Botswana in their opening match at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Bayern Munich forward Jackson, on loan from Chelsea, struck either side of half-time before substitute Cherif Ndiaye completed the scoring.
Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Benin 1-0 in the other Group D fixture thanks to a goal from Theo Bongonda.
In Group C, Semi Ajayi and Ademola Lookman were on target as Nigeria beat Tanzania 2-1, while Elias Achouri’s double helped Tunisia win 3-1 against Uganda.
What’s on today
Holders the Ivory Coast begin their defence of the Africa Cup of Nations against Mozambique, while Cameroon take on Gabon in the other Group F fixture.
In Group E, Algeria face Sudan after Burkina Faso play Equatorial Guinea.
