Fleetwood beat Arsenal on penalties to reach English League Cup quarter-finals
English fourth-tier club Fleetwood Town beat Premier League champions Arsenal 5-3 on penalties in the League Cup. BBC Sport also recalls other major upsets in English cup competitions.
In football's English League Cup (Carabao Cup), fourth-tier club Fleetwood Town beat Premier League champions Arsenal of London 5-3 on penalties. The result sends Fleetwood into the quarter-finals for the first time. Fleetwood play in League Two, the fourth level of the English football pyramid, and are ranked 84 places below Arsenal.
How the match unfolded
The tie was played at Fleetwood's Highbury Stadium. Aaron Loupalo-Bi put the hosts ahead in the 21st minute. Viktor Gyokeres levelled after the break. Arsenal were reduced to 10 men in the 86th minute, when teenager Max Dowman kicked out following a challenge by Harrison Neal.
In the shootout, Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch saved a kick from Bruno Guimaraes, and Conor Haughey scored the winning penalty. BBC Sport describes it as the biggest victory in the club's history. Arsenal are managed by Mikel Arteta and were also Champions League finalists.
Other cup upsets
BBC Sport uses the result to look back at other major shocks in English cup competitions. Last year in the League Cup, League Two side Grimsby Town beat Manchester United 12-11 on penalties after a 2-2 draw. In the FA Cup the same year, Plymouth, bottom of the Championship, won 1-0 against Liverpool.
Older examples include Bradford City's 4-2 FA Cup win over Chelsea in 2015, Oldham's 3-2 victory against Liverpool in 2013, and Hereford's win over Newcastle in 1972, when Hereford became the first non-league club to beat a First Division side since 1949.
