West Ham have been handed an EFL Cup quarter-final trip to Tottenham after dumping long-time holders Manchester City out of the competition.
David Moyes' men beat City on penalties on Wednesday to ensure the Premier League champions will not win the trophy for a fifth year in a row, and now a London derby awaits them for a place in the last four. Tottenham reached this stage by eliminating Burnley.
Three of the four ties will be played in the capital, with Arsenal drawn to face League One outfit Sunderland, the only EFL team left in the competition, and Brentford given a home game against Chelsea.
Sunderland knocked out QPR in a penalty shoot-out to reach the last eight, while Arsenal saw off Leeds United. Brentford were victorious at Stoke City, and Chelsea edged past Southampton on spot-kicks.
Liverpool's 2-0 win at Preston North End sets up Jurgen Klopp's team for a shot at Leicester City, with the Reds drawn at home for the tussle with Brendan Rodgers' team.
All ties are due to be played in the week commencing December 20.
Liverpool are looking to win the competition for a fourth time in the 21st century, and for a record ninth time in all. The Reds and Manchester City currently have the most titles in this competition, with eight apiece.
Leicester have won the EFL Cup on three previous occasions, most recently in 2000 when they beat another Merseyside club, Tranmere Rovers, in the last EFL Cup final to be played at the old Wembley Stadium, prior to its demolition.
EFL Cup quarter-final draw:
Tottenham v West Ham
Arsenal v Sunderland
Brentford v Chelsea
Liverpool v Leicester City
West Ham fans line streets to toast Europa Conference League champions
West Ham enjoyed a heroes’ welcome as fans lined the streets of east London to celebrate their Europa Conference League glory.
The Hammers won their first major trophy since the 1980 FA Cup, and a first European title since 1965, when they beat Italian side Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague on Wednesday night.
And their jubilant supporters, decked out in the famous claret and blue on a warm and sunny evening in the capital, packed the pavements as the Hammers paraded the silverware on an open-top bus.
The squad’s journey started at the site of their former home at Upton Park and finished at Stratford Town Hall, where they enjoyed a reception.
Only West Ham fans of a certain age will ever have seen their side celebrate success like this, with a similar parade being held after that 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup victory, where the likes of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters got the taste of winning trophies.
But the younger generation made the most of it, climbing on lamp posts and bus stops to get the best vantage point of their heroes while also letting off flares.
David Moyes may have joined Ron Greenwood and John Lyall in earning immortality as managers to win a major trophy with the Hammers but he initially endured a lessened role on the bus, taking pictures of his players as they posed together.
But he was soon joining in with the celebrations, dancing and jigging with the trophy on his head.
View this post on InstagramLifting the trophy appears to be a fitting way for captain Declan Rice to bow out, with chairman David Sullivan confirming the England international will be allowed to leave the club this summer, with a bidding war expected to commence soon.
Rice was emotional on top of the bus, admitting it does not feel “real”.
“This is absolutely incredible, when you’re a kid and you love football as much as I do, and the lads do, you see teams having trophy parades,” he said. “I was once a kid watching teams do trophy parades and now to be doing one and captaining the side is just so, so special, I can’t even put into words.
“We knew it would be exciting and the fans would come out, I am just trying to take it all in, we don’t get to experience this ever. These moments don’t come around very often.
“I’ve seen top captains over the years lift trophies and it was my time at West Ham to lift the trophy. It doesn’t really feel real.
“At 24, captain of West Ham lifting a trophy in a European competition, I don’t think it is going to hit me for a while, but I am going to enjoy it and be as happy for as long as possible.
“Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds, I am seeing messages that I am now in that category, I don’t really know what to say. Bizarre.”
Moyes spent much of the season under pressure following a disappointing Premier League campaign, but Rice believes he is now the club’s best-ever manager.
The England midfielder added on Sky Sports News: “I think he goes down as the best manager West Ham have ever had. The circumstances, when he first came in, kept us twice, European competition, we finished fifth, sixth, a semi-final (Europa League) and now we’ve won this, he deserves all the credit he gets.
“He’s a top man and as you can see he is buzzing.”
Jarrod Bowen was West Ham’s hero in the final as he scored a 90th-minute winner, capping off a remarkable turnaround in his career having been playing at non-league Hereford nine years ago after being rejected as a youngster by Aston Villa.
“I love the game and these moments make it all worth it, the rejections and not going the way you want it,” he said.
“You fast forward 10 years and you are on an open-top bus parade for winning a European trophy so from where I have come, my mum was crying on the phone, my dad was there.
“It is a bit surreal to say I have won a European trophy from where I have come from. I love it.”
D.C. United head coach Rooney says addition of Messi is 'going to be great' for MLS
Count D.C. United head coach Wayne Rooney among the many who are excited about Lionel Messi coming to Major League Soccer.
After Messi announced on Wednesday that he would be joining Inter Miami CF after his exit from Paris Saint-Germain, Rooney said the move is a major win for MLS.
"I think it's great, to bring Messi into the league," Rooney said on Thursday. "We've all seen, over the years, the impact of (Inter Miami co-owner) David Beckham coming in, (former Los Angeles Galaxy striker) Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) coming in.
"Different players from overseas. To get Messi in the league, arguably the greatest player of all time, and still – he’s a little bit older – but not long ago he won the World Cup almost single handed.
"It's going to be great for the league, for Miami."
Messi, 35, is expected to make his MLS debut sometime in July, and D.C. hosts Inter Miami on July 8.
"It'd be nice if we were his first opponents for D.C. fans to see him up close and for us to challenge ourselves against him," Rooney said.
"One thing I will say – it’s not going to be easy for him. The league's a difficult league and I don't think he's going to come over here and absolutely tear it up immediately.
"He'll have to adapt because it's a bit different, it won't be an easy ride for him."
Messi dragged Argentina to their first World Cup success since 1986 in Qatar last year, and the Barcelona great has won the Ballon d'Or trophy a record seven times.
"He's the best. Simple as that," Rooney said. "In my view he's the best player to ever play the game. That's how he's different.
"The fanbase around him will be huge, commercially, for the league I'm sure it'll be huge as well. It's massive for MLS. With Messi coming here – I know MLS has always brought players in – but I think it'll do that again, and it shows MLS can compete.
"It shows it’s a league where people want to come and want to play and it's a huge first step."
Erling Haaland on a mission to realise Champions League dream with Man City
Erling Haaland is well aware he was brought to Manchester City to help them win the Champions League.
City are just one victory away from claiming the prize they covet most but has eluded them time after time with several near misses in recent years.
Haaland has been key to their latest charge to the final, where they face Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday, after a prolific first season at the Etihad Stadium.
The Norwegian has plundered 52 goals in all competitions since City identified him as the potential final piece in their jigsaw last year and paid £51million to recruit him from Borussia Dortmund.
“The Premier League, they won it two times in a row before I came here,” said Haaland. “So they know how to win the Premier League.
“The only thing they miss now is the Champions League. You can think and read between the words and the lines – I have been coming here for a reason.”
Haaland scored a record 36 Premier League goals as he helped City make it three titles in a row. They followed up that success by winning the FA Cup last weekend.
Now City are bidding to join rivals Manchester United in the history books by becoming only the second side to win the treble.
Doing so would see Haaland fulfil a long-held dream of winning the Champions League.
“I have been dreaming and thinking of it my whole life,” said the 22-year-old. “It has been my dream as long as I can remember, so a long time.
“Of course I have been thinking of this. There is one game left we have to perform at our best in. We have been doing it now for so many games in a row. It’s about keeping going.”
Such is Haaland’s love of the Champions League, that he even used to play the competition’s theme music in his car during his younger days.
“Yes, there is a video of me doing that,” he said. “You can search it up. It’s true.”
Haaland feels his game has improved at City under the guidance of Pep Guardiola – someone he describes as a “detail freak” – but is convinced there is more to come.
He said: “I am really enjoying every single day with him, with the intense Pep. I like it.
“I am still young, I can improve a lot and I am at the perfect place to work with the best coach and players in the world.”
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