Top 20 Moments in League Cup History

Some of English football’s most memorable moments have occurred in cup competition—and yes, that includes the League Cup.

Founded in 1960, the tournament has often been used by many of the country’s biggest clubs to blood in new talent, and some unforgettable moments have occurred as a result.

At Anfield on Tuesday, Liverpool came through the longest penalty shootout in the competition's history—beating Middlesbrough 14-13—and to pay homage we have had a dig into the archives for some other memorable moments from down the years.

Here are the top 20 moments the League Cup has given us…so far…

20. 1979: Nottingham Forest 3-2 Southampton

Nottingham Forest progressed to a second successive League Cup final in the spring of 1979. Having beaten Liverpool 1-0 the year before, they were clear favourites to beat Southampton at Wembley. As legend has it, Forest manager Brian Clough had his players polish off a case of champagne the night before the match, but they nevertheless won 3-2 the following day—Garry Birtles scoring a second-half brace.

19. 2010: Manchester United 3-1 Manchester City

The 2010 League Cup semi-final between Manchester rivals United and City was made all the more intriguing by City’s poaching of former United striker Carlos Tevez the previous summer. Incidentally, Tevez scored both goals in a 2-1 City win at Eastlands in the first leg, but United prevailed 3-1 in the return to progress to the final. Wayne Rooney scored the winning goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.

18: 2007, Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal

Chelsea were back in the League final for a second time in three seasons in 2007, and they faced Arsenal for the trophy at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. Theo Walcott opened the scoring for the Gunners, but Didier Drogba quickly equalised and then scored a late winner to secure the silverware for the Blues. But the match is better known for the late violence that saw each of Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor and John Obi Mikel sent off in second-half stoppage time and Cesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard booked.

17. 2005: Liverpool 2-3 Chelsea

An action-paced 2005 League Cup final got off to a quick start when John Arne Riise put Liverpool 1-0 up on Chelsea just a minute after kick-off. The Reds appeared to be headed for the win when Steven Gerrard’s own goal gifted the Blues a late equaliser, and things only got worse for Liverpool in extra time as Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman beat Jerzy Dudek in succession. But the major talking point was Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho’s strut down the touchline, finger to lips in a taunt to the Liverpool supporters.

16. 2008: Burnley 2-0 Arsenal

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger rang the changes for his side’s 2008 League Cup quarter-final against Burnley, handing starts to the likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela, Mark Randall, Fran Merida and Paul Rodgers. He ended up going another season without a trophy as Kevin McDonald scored twice to put the hosts on course for a memorable victory at Turf Moor.

15. 2010: West Ham 4-0 Manchester United

Manchester United’s defense of the League Cup came to a screeching halt at the Boleyn Ground in November 2010. Rolling the dice with the likes of Gabriel Obertan and Bebe in his starting XI, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson could only chomp his gum as he watched West Ham romp to a 4-0 win and their first semi-final in 20 years.

14. 1991: Manchester United 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday

Manchester United won their first piece of European silverware under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1991 when they beat Barcelona to win the Cup Winners’ Cup in May. But a month prior they had tasted defeat in their first final of the season when a team including Bryan Robson, Paul Ince and Mark Hughes was beaten 1-0 by Sheffield United and goalscorer John Sheridan in front of nearly 78,000 at Wembley.

13. 1995: Manchester United 0-3 York City

Manchester United’s 4-0 loss away to MK Dons earlier this season brought back memories—and not the good kind—of the 1995-96 campaign, when they were similarly humiliated by York City. On September 20 the fourth-tier Minstermen won 3-0 at Old Trafford, and despite a 3-1 defeat a few weeks later at Bootham Crescent, they advanced to the next round of the competition at the Red Devils’ expense.

12. 1983: Arsenal 1-2 Walsall

Everything seemed to be going as planned when Stewart Robson gave Arsenal the first-half lead in the 1983-84 round-of-16 clash between the Gunners and Walsall at Highbury. But before the break the guests were back on level terms thanks to Mark Rees, and it wasn’t until the 85th minute that the match would see another goal. Incredible, it was the Saddlers who struck again—Ally Brown scoring for the Saddlers and signalling the end of Terry Neill’s stay as Arsenal manager.

11: 1961, Aston Villa 3-0 Rotherham United

Associated Press

Peter McParland (right).

The first-ever League Cup final was a two-legged affair, and it included Aston Villa and Rotherham United, who were toiling in the old Second Division at the time. Still, it was Rotherham who took the aggregate lead after a 2-0 win at Milmoor thanks to a pair of goals in the space of four minutes from Barry Webster and Alan Kirkman. Villa, however, managed to tie things up at Villa Park through Alan O’Neill and Harry Burrows, and Peter McParland won the trophy for the hosts in extra time.

10. 2001, Liverpool 1-2 Grimsby Town

Liverpool’s defense of the League Cup ended abruptly in 2001, when they were punted out of the third round of the competition by third-round Grimsby Town. After a scoreless 90 minutes Gary McAllister put the hosts ahead at Anfield, but a Marlon Broomes volley restored level terms with seven minutes remaining and, incredibly, Phil Jevons tallied the winner with just seconds remaining on the referee’s watch.

9. 2006: Southend United 1-0 Manchester United

The legend of Freddy Eastwood was born on November 7, 2006 when the Southend United striker with Romani roots scored the only goal in a fourth-round match against Manchester United at Roots Hall. United were the holders and would go on to win the Premier League in the spring, but for one night, anyway, Eastwood was the hero and would end up turning his performance into a move to Wolves.

8. 1994: Aston Villa 3-1 Man United

The 1994 League Cup final saw Aston Villa manager Ron Atkinson go up against Manchester United—the club he had left upon Sir Alex Ferguson’s arrival in 1986. Wearing their appalling yellow and green strip, United were already 2-0 down by the time Mark Hughes pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute, but Dean Saunders completed his second-half brace and sealed the victory for Villa with a stoppage-time penalty.

7. 1987: Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool

The omens were good for Liverpool when Ian Rush spotted them a 2-1 lead against Arsenal in the 1987 League Cup final. After all, the Reds had never lost a match in which the legendary striker had found the back of the net. But on this night it would be Charlie Nicholas who would be the hero, and he restored level terms on the half-hour mark before potting the winner with seven minutes remaining.

6. 1967: Queens Park Rangers 3-2 West Bromwich Albion

Nearly 100,000 people went through the turnstiles at Wembley to see FA Cup holders West Bromwich Albion face third-tier Queens Park Rangers in the 1967 League Cup final. The Baggies, who were heavy favourites, didn’t disappoint—Clive Clark scoring a first-half brace to open up a 2-0 lead. But when Roger Morgan pulled one back for QPR just after the hour mark, the comeback was on. Rodney Marsh restored level terms with 15 minutes remaining and in the 81st minute Mark Lazarus notched the winner. QPR had become the first third-tier side to win a major piece of silverware.

5. 2010: Liverpool 2-2 Northampton Town (Town on Penalties)

Liverpool went out of the League Cup to a lower-division side for only the second time in their history in 2010 when they lost on penalties to League Two outfit Northampton Town. Milan Jovanovic opened the scoring for the hosts at Anfield in the seventh minute, but Billy MacKay forced extra time with his 56th-minute equaliser. Michael Jacobs and David N’Gog then exchanged goals before Town went on win 4-2 on penalties.

4. 2011: Arsenal 1-2 Birmingham City

Arsenal had good reason to assume their trophy drought would end on February 27, 2011 in the League Cup final against Birmingham City. But Nikola Zigic had other ideas and gave the Blues the lead just prior to the half-hour mark. Robin van Persie quickly equalised for the Gunners, but that’s where the offense ended for manager Arsene Wenger’s men, who were vanquished by a late Obafemi Martins winner.

3. 1988: Luton Town 3-2 Arsenal

As if Luton Town’s unlikely run to the 1988 League Cup final wasn’t enough, Brian Stein put the Hatters in front after just 13 minutes against Arsenal at Wembley. Martin Hayes, however, was able to equalise in the 71st minute, and just three minutes later Alan Smith scored what should have been the winner. But with eight minutes remaining Gunners defender Gus Caesar fell over in his own 18-yard box and gifted Danny Wilson another goal for Luton, who went on to win the match through Stein’s second of the contest.

2. 1969: Swindon Town 3-1 Arsenal

Arsenal lost their first League Cup final 1-0 to Leeds in 1968, and a year later they were back in the last match of the competition when they faced unfancied Swindon Town at Wembley. In the 35th minute Roger Smart gave the Robins the lead, but Bobby Gould’s late equaliser forced extra time. Cometh the moment, cometh Don Rogers, whose two goals in five minutes on either side of the extra-time break won the trophy for Swindon.

1. 1976: Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle

The 1976 League Cup final featured the most memorable winner in tournament history and was a story of boyhood allegiances. With Manchester City and Newcastle United level at a goal apiece at the restart, Dennis Tueart—a Magpies fan as a lad—scored what proved to be the winner with a spectacular, over-head kick less than a minute into the second half.