Aston Villa and Crystal Palace progress to fourth round of EFL Cup
Aston Villa Defeats Bolton 4-1
In the third round of the EFL Cup, Aston Villa comfortably defeated Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at Villa Park on Tuesday night. The Villans dominated the match from the start and took the lead in the 17th minute when Ollie Watkins fired home from close range.
Villa doubled their lead just before half-time when Douglas Luiz curled a stunning free-kick into the top corner. The hosts continued to press in the second half and added two more goals through Leon Bailey and Danny Ings to secure a comfortable victory.
Crystal Palace Edges Past Oxford United
In another third-round match, Crystal Palace narrowly defeated Oxford United 2-1 at the Kassam Stadium. The Eagles took the lead in the 25th minute when Odsonne Edouard tapped in from close range after a cross from Jordan Ayew.
However, Oxford equalized just before half-time through Matty Taylor. The match remained evenly contested in the second half, but Palace eventually grabbed the winner in the 75th minute when Eberechi Eze fired home a low shot from the edge of the area.
Both teams progress to the fourth round
Aston Villa and Crystal Palace will now both progress to the fourth round of the EFL Cup. The draw for the fourth round will be held on Thursday, August 25th.
The EFL Cup, also known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knockout cup competition in English football. It is contested by 92 clubs from the Premier League, EFL Championship, EFL League One, and EFL League Two.
The competition is decided by a single-elimination format, with the winner of each match advancing to the next round. If a match is drawn after 90 minutes, extra time is played. If the match is still drawn after extra time, a penalty shootout is held to determine the winner.
The winner of the EFL Cup qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League, the third-tier European club competition. If the winner of the EFL Cup has already qualified for the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League, the berth goes to the highest-placed team in the Premier League that has not already qualified for a European competition.
