Everton down Man City in League Cup encounter

Young talent Martinez admitted before Everton’s League Cup semi-final first-leg win over Manchester City that Champions League qualification would be more persuasive to keeping young talent at the club than victory in the competition.

The 30-year-old Spaniard was one of City’s best performers, with his introduction as a 54th-minute substitute injecting pace and a different attacking dimension into Manuel Pellegrini’s at times labouring side.

“It is important to try to win every game because that gives you an ambitious mind, a winning mind, and a lot of things that for me are very important”. “He could reach 600 Premier League appearances this season”.

“Vincent is progressing, it’s a muscle injury and we must not rush him. It doesn’t matter which competition you are in”.

Liverpool – Everton manager Roberto Martinez described Gareth Barry as one of England’s finest ever players after he helped guide his team closer to the final of the League Cup. I felt the goal was coming.

“Everton’s first goal was absolutely offside and it was a clear penalty when Jesus Navas was fouled, said Manchester City boss Pellegrini during the post-game conference”.

“Overall we had real good possession and we defended and deserved to win the game”.

“That is not true, I would never do that”, Martinez said, as reported by The Guardian.

City’s Jesus Navas had only moments before cancelled out Ramiro Funes Mori’s first-half opener, when Lukaku struck in the 78th minute, rising unchallenged to head home Gareth Barry’s arcing left-wing cross.

Norwich have no reported injury concerns and will probably use this match as a chance to give some field time to Andre Wisdom and Matt Jarvis who are both returning to fitness. Lukaku has an ankle problem and Seamus Coleman and Tom Cleverley had to go off with calf strains.

Some questioned his £9.5million transfer, which made him the club’s most expensive defender, after the price nearly doubled in the final days of the window after it emerged the player was entitled to 50 per cent of any fee under the terms of his River Plate contract and Everton obliged rather than allowing the deal to fall through. “We now have five hamstring injuries and that’s my responsibility”.