| Carling Cup, League Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | England Wales |
| Teams | 92 |
| Defending champions | Manchester United |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Chelsea(4th title) |
| Runners-up | Arsenal |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Jermaine Easter Júlio Baptista (6 goals) |
The2006–07 Football League Cup (known as theCarling Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 47th staging of theFootball League Cup, a knock-out competition for the top 92football clubs played inEnglish football league system. The competition name reflects a sponsorship deal with lager brandCarling.
The competition began in August 2006 and ended with thefinal on 25 February 2007. TheMillennium Stadium inCardiff hosted the final, as the reconstruction ofWembley Stadium could not be completed in time to host the final.
The winners wereChelsea, beatingArsenal in the final 2-1 after two goals byDidier Drogba.
The competition consists of five single elimination rounds (taking place only on week-nights) before a two-legged semi-final and then a final match at a neutral venue. The venue for each fixture in round one to the finals will not be neutral. It will be the home ground of one of the two clubs in each fixture, and will be decided as part of the draw for each round.
There are no replays in the competition. If necessary, extra-time and penalties will decide each tie's winners on the night.
The 72Football League clubs compete from the first round, which is divided into North and South sections. Each section is divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depend upon their finishing position in the2005-06 season. Therefore, the clubs relegated from the Premier League in 2006;Sunderland (North),Birmingham City andWest Bromwich Albion (South) are the top seeds, and the clubs newly promoted to the Football League —Accrington Stanley andHereford United — are bottom seeds in north and south sections respectively.
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1 Score after 90 minutes
In Round 2, the 36 winners from Round 1 were joined by the 12Premier League clubs not participating inEuropean competitions.The draw took place on 26 August 2006 and matches were played during the week commencing 18 September.
1 Score after 90 minutes
Round 3 was drawn on 23 September from the 24 remaining clubs and the eight Premier League clubs in European competitions. The ties were played the week of 23 October:
| Tie no | Home team | Score1 | Away team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wycombe Wanderers | 1–1 | Doncaster Rovers | 3,308 |
| 2–2 after extra time — Wycombe win 3–2 on penalties | ||||
| 2 | Sheffield United | 2–4 | Birmingham City | 10,584 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 2–2 | Aston Villa | 27,288 |
| Aston Villa win 3–2 after extra time | ||||
| 4 | Watford | 2–1 | Hull City | 8,274 |
| 5 | Leeds United | 1–3 | Southend United | 10,449 |
| 6 | Chesterfield | 2–1 | West Ham United | 7,787 |
| 7 | Notts County | 2–0 | Southampton | 6,731 |
| 8 | Newcastle United | 3–0 | Portsmouth | 25,028 |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic | 1–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 10,788 |
| 10 | Liverpool | 4–3 | Reading | 42,445 |
| 11 | West Bromwich Albion | 0–2 | Arsenal | 21,566 |
| 12 | Port Vale | 0–0 | Norwich City | 4,518 |
| 0–0 after extra time — Port Vale win 3–2 on penalties | ||||
| 13 | Everton | 4–0 | Luton Town | 27,149 |
| 14 | Milton Keynes Dons | 0–5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 8,306 |
| 15 | Crewe Alexandra | 1–1 | Manchester United | 10,046 |
| Manchester United win 2–1 after extra time | ||||
| 16 | Blackburn Rovers | 0–2 | Chelsea | 14,732 |
1 Score after 90 minutes
The Fourth round draw was made on 25 October 2006.
| Chelsea | 4–0 | Aston Villa |
|---|---|---|
Lampard 32'Shevchenko 65'Essien 82'Drogba 84' | Report |
| Chesterfield | 3–3 (a.e.t.) 3–4p | Charlton Athletic |
|---|---|---|
| Larkin 2' Folan 47'Allison 120' | Report | Hasselbaink 40',93' Bent 73' |
| Everton | 0–1 | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Adebayor 85' |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | Port Vale |
|---|---|---|
| Huddlestone 80',99' Defoe 107' | Report | Constantine 64' |
The quarter-final draw was made on 11 November 2006 at 12:00GMT.
| Liverpool | 3–6 | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| Fowler 33' Gerrard 68'Hyypiä 80' | Report | Aliadière 27' Baptista 40',45+6',60',84'Song 45+2' |
The semi-final draw was made on 23 December 2006 at 12:00GMT. Unlike the other rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home.
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1–1 | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| Easter 77' | Report | Bridge 36' |
| Chelsea | 4–0 | Wycombe Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Shevchenko 22',43' Lampard 69',90' | Report |
Chelsea won 5–1 on aggregate.
Arsenal won 5–3 on aggregate.
