Arsenal Beat Crystal Palace On Penalties To Reach EFL Cup Semi-Finals
Arsenal advanced to the EFL Cup semi-finals for the second year in a row after edging Crystal Palace on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
The scoring began late in normal time when Maxence Lacroix inadvertently turned William Saliba’s effort into his own net in the 81st minute. Palace responded in stoppage time, with Marc Guéhi finishing Jefferson Lerma’s knock-down in the six-yard box to level the score.
Both teams started brightly, with Tyrick Mitchell firing wide for Palace and Noni Madueke forcing a low save from Walter BenÃtez. BenÃtez was also called into action to deny a goal-bound header from Gabriel Jesus. After the break, Palace looked more threatening, with Jefferson Lerma heading over and Adam Wharton’s long-range effort narrowly missing.
The match went to a tense penalty shootout, where Kepa Arrizabalaga kept out Lacroix’s spot-kick, giving Arsenal an 8-7 shootout victory.
Mikel Arteta’s side will now face Chelsea in a two-legged semi-final across January and February.
