Manchester United and Aston Villa Through to Carling Cup Semi-final

Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 on the night of 1st December, and booked their place in the semi-finals of the League Cup. They are a step closer to retaining the title that they won earlier this year by beating the same team in last season's final. Sir Alex Ferguson reprimanded the press earlier this week for writing off his younger players after their loss to Turkish side Besiktas, and they paid back his confidence with some style. None more so than 22 year old Darron Gibson, who capped a fine night with two magnificent strikes from outside the area. If goals from midfield are a problem for Ferguson this season, he should look no further than the impressive Irishman. Anderson, Ritchie De Laet, Gabriel Obertan and Danny Welbeck impressed as well.

For Tottenham, it was the same story again, as the last time they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford was in the early 90's. Harry Redknapp has done a good job at the club, but they have now spurned the opportunity of making three consecutive Carling Cup final appearances at Wembley. Despite dominating the game for almost an hour, Spurs could not find a way past Nemanja Vidic and Tomas Kuszczak.

United will be joined in the semi-finals by Aston Villa, who beat Portsmouth 4-2 at Fratton Park, making it two losses out of two for new boss Avram Grant. The other two semi-finalists will be decided tonight when Arsenal take on Manchester City at Eastlands, and when Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers clash at Ewood Park. If Chelsea and Arsenal make it through it will throw up some interesting clashes amongst 3 of the 'Big 4' of the Premier League, and will help in determining which squad has the best fringe and youth team players.