Chelsea and Liverpool cruised, but only one other Premier League side one… and it was the one playing another top-flight rival.
[ RECAP: Chelsea 7-1 Grimsby Town ]
A day after Tottenham fell to Colchester United, League One sides Oxford United, Burton Albion, and Sunderland all took down PL foes in the League Cup to book fourth round berths.
Manchester United 1-1 (5-3 penalties) Rochdale
Sergio Romero made a save in the second round of kicks and that’s all Manchester United needed to avoid an embarrassing upset at home to League One’s Rochdale.
The combined age of goal scorers at Old Trafford before penalties was 33, as Paul Pogba returned to the United XI but couldn’t spare his men blushes despite a dominant performance.
Mason Greenwood, 17, scored off a Jesse Lingard assist in the 68th minute, seemingly capping a dominant performance that lacked finish.
But 16-year-old defender Luke Matheson scored eight minutes later to ratchet up the pressure at Old Trafford, and Daniel James and Juan Mata came off the bench for the Red Devils (who also handed a debut to 19-year-old left back Brandon Williams).
Oxford United 4-0 West Ham United
Elliott Moore‘s second half goal gave the League One side a 55th minute lead over Manuel Pellegrini‘s in-form Irons, and well-traveled striker Matt Taylor turned the hopes of a “cupset” up to 11.
By the time Tariqe Fosu made it 3-0 against a very decent West Ham side including Issa Diop, Jack Wilshere, Pablo Fornals, and Pablo Zabaleta, it was academic.
Shandon Baptiste added to the Kassam Stadium jubilation with a stoppage time finish.
Burton Albion 2-0 Bournemouth
Oliver Sarkic delivered the goods for the underdogs, who took an early lead against Eddie Howe‘s in-form Cherries. Nathan Broadhead later scored in a match which was thrice (!!!) stopped by floodlight failure, as the Brewers stunned the Cherries.
MK Dons 0-2 Liverpool
Playing at the back for a very young Liverpool, James Milner gave the Reds a lead they would not toss aside at Stadium MK.
Milner assisted on Ki-Jana Hoever‘s second half goal, as the second-choice Reds XI was given a decent challenge by Paul Tisdale’s side.
Brighton and Hove Albion 1-3 Aston Villa
Conor Hourihane and Jota scored in the first 33 minutes, as Villa continued to heap misery on Brighton’s poor run of form in the only all-Premier League match of the day. Hayden Roberts pulled one back in the second half, but that’s all the Seagulls could muster and Jack Grealish restored a two-goal lead for Villa before the match was finished at the Amex Stadium.
Sheffield United 0-1 Sunderland
Max Power — yes, that’s really his name — gave the Black Cats a ninth minute lead over the Premier League’s Blades.
Wolves 1-1 (4-2 pens.) Reading
Bruno Jordao scored his first Wolves goal, as American center back Matt Miazga returned to the Reading lineup after an injury spell cost him four matches and an international break with the USMNT.
But Reading kept pushing for an equalizer and got a deserved one when Lucas Boye scored in the ninth (!!) minute of stoppage time to force penalties.
Miazga was one of only two Reading players to score in the session, as Wolves escaped with their League Cup lives.
