Man City survives League Cup scare

Claudio Bravo was a forgotten man at Manchester City. Even the most loyal Arsenal fan probably knew little about Eddie Nketiah.

On Tuesday, both players were showered with praise after match-winning performances in the English League Cup.

Bravo, now the second-choice goalkeeper at City after an underwhelming first season at the club, made crucial saves in normal time and in the penalty shootout as Manchester City ousted Wolverhampton Wanderers in a gruelling last-16 match.

City won the shootout 4-1 — with Sergio Aguero deftly chipping the clinching penalty high into the net — after Bravo made flying saves from Wolves’ second and third kicks. The match was 0-0 after extra time, but only after the Chile goalkeeper came to City’s rescue in repelling a series of shots from counter-attacks by the second-tier leaders.

Nketiah, an 18-year-old striker making only his second appearance for Arsenal, entered as a substitute against Norwich and scored the equallizer within 15 seconds. His first touch of the ball took the game against another second-tier team to extra time, where Nketiah then grabbed a 96th-minute winner as Arsenal edged through 2-1 at home.

There were wins for Manchester United, Leicester and Bournemouth, but fellow Premier League team Crystal Palace came unstuck in losing 4-1 at second-tier Bristol City.

Jesse Lingard is saving his best for the League Cup these days. Four of the midfielder’s last five goals for Manchester United have been in this competition after he scored in each half of a 2-0 win over Swansea at Liberty Stadium — one a coolly taken, sidefoot finish and the other a header from just inside the area.