League Cup semifinals 2014: Manchester City thrash West Ham

Well well well. Sunderland had the advantage heading into the second leg of their League Cup semifinal, but few expected them to actually go through against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Indeed, for most of the match it looked as though they’d fall meekly after Jonny Evans claimed a first-half goal, but a bizarre sequence as extra time ran down and one of the worst penalty shootouts in the history of the sport ensured that the visitors would be the ones with the privilege of being thumped in the final by Manchester City next month.

Chicharito had the chance to open the scoring in the sixth minute. After Fabio Borini hacked down Adnan Januzaj on the United left, and the striker met the resultant cross with a downward header that was, unfortunately, directed straight at Vito Mannone. Danny Welbeck missed in similar fashion half an hour later, hitting an effort directly at the goalkeeper after Alexander Buttner’s header struck the post.

West Ham offered little in the way of surprises as they were comfortably thrashed by a Manchester City side, 6-0, that was in their usual rampant home form.

There may still be a second leg to go, but the result of the tie now looks a foregone conclusion after City put five past the Hammers without reply, with Alvaro Negredo bagging a hat-trick. Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure also scored in a scoreline that, if anything, flattered the Hammers.

Read that quote again.

One more time.

The second half was a little more lively, although that didn’t necessarily benefit United. Sunderland had their chances, with David De Gea being called into action, but the Red Devils also got forward and were rewarded in the 52nd minute. Nemanja Vidic skied to meet Adnan Januzaj’s cross, and he headed home to bring Manchester United level and ignite a loud away section as the belief that the Red Devils would surge to victory spread.

But United couldn’t build off of their goal. They didn’t dominate possession or start generating chances left and right after equalizing, and instead it was Sunderland who surged forward. In the 64th minute, they got some help from the referee to boot.